MIAMI – While Miami Heat star Andrew Wiggins has been dealing with injuries, he is set to come back in Friday’s contest against the Houston Rockets as his presence is needed with 13 games left in the season. As the Heat are amid a nine-game skid before the Houston outing, head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about the importance of Wiggins on the team as they want to end the season on a good note.
Wiggins has missed the last two games and in total played in 11 of the last 18 contests since being traded to Miami which involved Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors. Seen as the third option after Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints that Wiggins is a “major part” of their system as the team will be “mindful” of his playing time due to the “right ankle impingement.”
“I mean, it goes without saying that he’s a major part of what we’re trying to do,” Spoelstra said. “It’s great to have him back. You know, yeah, we’ll be mindful of his minutes tonight, but we’ll see how it goes and adjust accordingly.”
Asked Erik Spoelstra about how crucial Andrew Wiggins will be in the final 13 games of the season and if there is caution with the ankle.
“He’s a major part of what we’re trying to do…we’ll he mindful of his minutes and see how it goes…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/uyBNPZch4s
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 21, 2025
Since being with Miami, Wiggins has averaged he has averaged 18.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 42.2 percent from the field and 30.9 percent from deep.
Erik Spoelstra on the emotions of the Heat amid the losing streak
After the Heat suffered a tough loss to the Detroit Pistons off a game-winner by guard Cade Cunningham, the will of the team has been tested. However, don’t count on Miami’s emotions being down as Spoelstra expressed how there is “great spirit” with the team and applauds them for not backing down amid a nine-game skid, the longest in the coach’s career.
“The emotion is fine,” Spoelstra said. “Look, we’re competitors. So of course, we’re going to feel frustrated, angry, all the above after the game, but I just commend this group. Every time we get knocked down, get up off the mat, everybody comes back the next time we’re together, there’s a great spirit. I mentioned before, it’s like a college atmosphere with this team.”
“It’s a resilient team, tough-minded team to be able to keep on coming back and competing at a high level,” Spoelstra continued. “We all understand that we need to do more, particularly in these moments of truth, but it’s not from a lack of competition or spirit, and that’s not going to change with this group.”
Erik Spoelstra on the emotion of the team.
“The emotion is fine, we’re competitors, of course we’re going to feel frustrated, angry…just commend this group, every time we get knocked down, get up off the mat, there’s great spirit…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/cXDu2w6u3s
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 21, 2025
Heat see “great benefit” in the adversity thrown their way
With the Heat looking to stay the course and get back to winning again, there have been “good conversations” happening behind the scenes between Spoelstra, the coaching staff, and the rest of the team. Even with all the hurdles in Miami’s way, Spoelstra and the team see it as a “great benefit.”
“We’ve had some really good moments, you know, the last six weeks, some good conversations, some themes that we can all rally around,” Spoelstra said. “And like I’ve said it a couple times, we’re being tested, and there’s nothing wrong with that, and it makes everybody uncomfortable, and it’s not the first time our organization has gone through adversity, you know, and we lean into adversity. We think that there’s great benefits, you know, when you can power through and have breakthroughs. We haven’t been able to have that leads to a win, but we’ve had, we’ve certainly had some breakthroughs in terms of our process, and if not, getting the result that you think you deserve, you have to stay the course.”
“We’ve had some really good moments the last six weeks, some good conversations…It’s not the first time our organization has gone through adversity, we lean into adversity…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/RM1OwgOcyP
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 21, 2025
Before the Heat take on the Rockets, the team is 29-40 which puts them 10th in the Eastern Conference, looking to avoid a ten-game losing streak.
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