Injury report: Andrew Wiggins, Tidjane Salaun and more ahead of Heat vs. Hornets originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Miami Heat travel to the Spectrum Center to battle the Charlotte Hornets Friday night in a matchup between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in the Eastern Conference.
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The Hornets enter the game currently on a six-game win streak while the Heat have won three straight of their own.
With a win, Charlotte could move within a game of Miami for the eighth seed, while the Heat could extend their lead to three games over Charlotte.
Heading into the matchup, each team is dealing with injuries in some capacity, although the Heat are currently dealing with the worst of it.
For the Hornets, they’ll be without former sixth overall pick Tidjane Salaun who has been ruled out due to a left calf strain.
As for Miami, they’ll be without more than a couple of their main contributors. Norman Powell remains out with a right groin strain while Nikola Jovic has also been ruled out due to a back injury.
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Additionally, the team will be without Simone Fontecchio who’s also sidelined with a groin injury and former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins who’s been ruled out with a knee injury.
The duo of Powell and Wiggins alone accounts for 38.4 points per game, not to mention Jovic and Fontecchio who combine to average 15.8 points on the season.
With the four of them sidelined, expect Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo to handle the scoring responsibilities.
As for the Hornets, they won’t be missing a lot, as Salaun has only averages 15.9 minutes per game and 6.2 points coming off the bench.
Following Friday’s game, the Heat will face the Detroit Pistons Sunday while the Hornets will begin a four-game West Coast road trip Sunday against the Suns.
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