MIAMI – With the Miami Heat looking to make a playoff push with 12 games left in the season after Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the team is still dealing with some injuries to key players like Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Andrew Wiggins. As the Heat prepare for a gauntlet of matchups to finish off the season, head coach Erik Spoelstra speaks on the updates he has for both impact players as the team looks to fortify its spot in the Eastern Conference.
Heat's Erik Spoelstra provides Andrew Wiggins, Jaime Jaquez Jr. updates
Starting with Wiggins, Thursday facing the Lakers marks the seventh straight contest the veteran forward has missed, as he's dealing with an injury listed as ” Left Big Toe; Sesamoiditis.” Wiggins is a mainstay in Miami's starting lineup, bringing the team a consistent two-way effort that works well offensively along with Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and others.
This season, Wiggins has averaged 15.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 47.4 percent from the field. With his absence missed, Spoelstra would say that the team is “encouraged” by Wiggins' recovery process.
“He's making progress, he's not ready to go tonight. He still has to ramp up, but we're encouraged by the progress he's made the last few days,” Spoelstra said before the Heat took on the Lakers.
For Jaquez, he would be listed out for Thursday's game due to “left hip tightness,” an issue he sustained in Miami's 136-106 loss on Tuesday to the Charlotte Hornets. His importance can't be understated as Jaquez has been one of the leading candidates for Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 15 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, while shooting 50 percent from the field.
Spoelstra would say he'll be labeled as “day-to-day.”
“It happened in the game, but he's already done a ton of treatment. He's starting to feel better. So treat him day to day,” Spoelstra said.
Erik Spoelstra speaks on the injuries of Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Andrew Wiggins, both of whom are out.
Jaime’s hip issue was sustained in Tuesday’s game, is “day to day.”
Spo is ‘encouraged’ by Wiggins’ recovery from his toe injury. #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/fatxq1ROvJ
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 19, 2026
Erik Spoelstra on the “bigger test” for the Heat
While the Heat look to fully see how well they can operate before the postseason, the team might not get enough time to see what a fully healthy Miami team looks like. As there will be 12 games after the Lakers contest, it can't be said for sure when Wiggins will be back, along with Jaquez, making an evaluation of the team hard to do.
Either way, Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints that the “bigger test” is overcoming the home stretch of the season against other teams that have the same goals as they do.
“I mean, the bigger test is, you know, how we raise our level of game and spirit and competition against teams that are all playing for something at least in our near future,” Spoelstra said. “And, you know, that's when people say they always want, and now we have it. But we always say this is for competitors only, and other teams are, you know, competing and bringing their best game. So it's a matter of facing that level of competition and finding a way to get to another level.”
Asked Erik Spoelstra if these final 13 games of the season will show how this team can truly operate or if injuries are holding back from seeing it: #HeatNation
“The bigger test is how we raise our level of game and spirit and competition…” pic.twitter.com/LRfHe3QmZh
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 19, 2026
At any rate, Miami looks to take the remaining games they have left in the regular season and accomplish the goal that they've been striving for, which is avoiding the play-in tournament. Having been in the tourney for the last three seasons and finishing as the eighth seed, the Heat want to at least reach sixth.
Entering Thursday against the Lakers, Miami is 38-31, seventh in the East, only a half-game back of the Orlando Magic, who are at the coveted sixth spot.
