NBA Rumors: Miami Heat key player expected to be out a while?

NBA Rumors: Is Victor Oladipo expected to be out for a while longer? 

The Miami Heat has gotten off to a rough 1-3 start to the season. They have struggled to tap back into what made them successful last season and there are big questions that this team will have to answer over the next few weeks.

Bam Adebayo has been hot or cold, Tyler Herro has flashed brilliance but also has been inconsistent, and Kyle Lowry has been quite bad. Jimmy Butler has been Jimmy Butler, but he clearly needs help.

One player that was supposed to help in that front was Victor Oladipo. He entered the offseason healthy and was expected to look a little more like his old self this year. But that hasn’t been the case. And it’s not just that he doesn’t look like his old self, it’s the fact that he hasn’t even played in a game this regular season that is an issue.

And according to a recent report, it doesn’t seem as if Oladipo’s return is on the horizon. The good news is that the report says the Heat expects Oladipo to play this season but there’s no timeline on a possible return. That leads me to believe that Oladipo could be out for a while.

Victor Oladipo was supposed to be a key player for the Miami Heat

During the offseason, the Heat garnered plenty of pushback after they failed to make any additions to the roster. They lost PJ Tucker and didn’t replace him. Part of the Heat’s overall offseason thinking was that a few of their players would have improved seasons this year.

Essentially, the Heat was relying on internal progression from the likes of Max Strus, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Gabe Vincent, Omer Yurtseven, and Victor Oladipo.

Oladipo may in fact offer some improvement but we won’t know until he actually gets on the floor. And right now, he simply hasn’t been healthy. Oladipo is battling what has been labeled as knee tendinitis.

Interestingly, Oladipo did play a game in the preseason. But, clearly, something was off with Oladipo. So much so that it has led to the Heat’s training staff to rest Oladipo. For how long, who knows?

It’s not surprising that the Heat is playing it safe with Oladipo but it has to be concerning that he’s not playing games right now. And you can’t help but wonder how much the Heat could benefit from a healthy Oladipo right now. It’s just a shame.