MIAMI — Buildings don’t go silent when the home team is winning by 25 late in the fourth quarter. Teammates aren’t cursing and burying heads in towels when they are about to take a 2-1 lead in an NBA best-of-seven opening-round playoff series over the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed.
That’s how you knew that something was wrong, very wrong, when Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo crumpled to the court with 3:56 left in Saturday night’s 121-99 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center.
His career derailed numerous times since he ruptured a quadriceps tendon in his right knee while with the Indiana Pacers in January 2019, Oladipo was assisted off the court in Game 3 with the help of teammates and training staff with what appeared to be a significant knee injury.
It was a sobering moment on what should have been a celebratory night.
“It’s tough, man,” said guard Duncan Robinson, visibly shaken by the injury. “Obviously it’s a mix of emotions, first one just thinking of him, and you’ve just kind of got a pit in your stomach after seeing something like that and watching him work and come back from the injuries that he’s come back from and showed the resilience that he has.
“Never count him out, obviously. But it hurts to see somebody that you care about go through something like that.”
Oladipo’s left leg significantly gave way after he drove past Bucks forward Bobby Portis on what appeared to be a simple explosive, trademark drive to the rim.
A stretcher was then brought out, with the 30-year-old guard refusing to be carted off.
“When you see a player go down like that,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, “particularly a player like Vic, who’s gone through so much in the last three years . . . that’s definitely not a good feeling to see Vic on the floor like that.”
Acquired by the Heat at the March 2021 NBA trading deadline from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley and a draft-pick swap, Oladipo has missed extensive time at the starts of the past two seasons recovering from ailments, appearing in only eight regular-season games in 2021-22 and 42 this season.
His injury comes with the Heat already without starting shooting guard Tyler Herro, who broke his right hand in last weekend’s series opener and will be sidelined at least six weeks.
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Under NBA rules, teams may not add replacement players during the playoffs unless the number of available players is reduced to nine or fewer. In addition, players on two-way contracts, such as the Heat’s Jamal Cain and Orlando Robinson, are not eligible for playoff rosters.
That not only leaves the Heat with 13 available players with playoff eligibility due to the Herro and Oladipo injuries, but only two remaining ball-handling guards, in 37-year-old veteran Kyle Lowry and former undrafted free-agent Gabe Vincent.
“The next guy’s going to have to step up,” said Lowry, who has been listed as questionable for each game since returning March 11 from a monthlong absence due to knee pain, wearing ice packs while seated on the bench. “And we understand that we’ll get more minutes from Gabe and more minutes from myself, Caleb [Martin].
“We’ve just got to continue to step up and maximize who we have on the floor.”
Oladipo holds a player option for $9.5 million for next season on the second and final year of the two-year, $18.2 million contract he signed last July to return to the Heat. That contract is fully guaranteed, with the Heat with limited salary recourse in the case of a long-term absence.
“We’re all praying for the best,” Robinson said. “But still, he’s dealt with a lot of adversity in that department.”
Game 4 is Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Kaseya Center.
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