The Wounded Demon continues to haunt Miami. Following Tyler Hiro in Game 1, even Victor Oladipo went down with a knee injury this time.
The Miami Heat won 121-99 in Game 3 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs held at the Kaseya Center in Miami on the 23rd (Korean time).
On this day, Miami, led by Jimmy Butler who recorded 30 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, won a complete victory by 22 points over Eastern No. 1 seed Milwaukee, where Giannis Antetokounmpo was absent due to back pain, and took the lead again with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss.
But I couldn’t be more happy. This is because Miami, which is particularly troubled by the injuries of key players in this playoff, has been plagued with injury issues again.
In Game 1, Miami lost Tyler Hiro, one of the team’s key scorers, to a hand injury, and Victor Oladipo, one of their key bench members, suffered a knee injury in Game 3.
Oladipo slipped while jumping with his left foot in the process of breaking through at the last minute of the fourth quarter, and immediately after falling, he grabbed his left knee and showed a surprised expression. Then, as if instinctively realizing that the injury was not light, he shook his head and eventually headed to the locker room with support.
Miami coach Eric Spoelstra said, “When he saw the stretcher coming in, he said he was going to leave. We don’t know the exact condition of the injury yet, and we’ll have to wait for the results of a detailed examination tomorrow. It breaks my heart to see someone get hurt on the court.” and explained Oladipo’s physical condition. 스포츠토토
Oladipo, the second overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, rose to stardom by going through Orlando and Oklahoma City and reaching his potential at Indiana, being selected as an All-Star in 2018 and 2019.
However, his career was ruined by an injury. Oladipo suffered a right knee injury in January 2019 and had to rehabilitate for a year. He returned to the court after that, but his performance seemed to have declined, and even after joining Miami, he has been playing on the bench rather than starting.
Still, Oladipo was being heavily used in the playoffs as he consistently maintained a spot in the rotation, averaging 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists this season. However, it is expected that he will not be able to step on the court for the time being because his injury evil spirit has once again hindered him.
Miami will play Game 4 of the series against Milwaukee at home on the 25th. There is no Hiro and Oladipo has to fill up the power leak in the backcourt to increase their chances of advancing to the second round.