MIAMI – After the Miami Heat picked up a big win over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, the team prepares for four more games at home against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. As the Heat look to pick up a satisfying win over the Hornets, the team will likely have to do so without stars like Andrew Wiggins and Norman Powell.
Looking at Wiggins, he was playing through knee tendinitis but is now dealing with left foot inflammation, which is the real reason he is missing Sunday's game against the Pistons. Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra will speak on how "debilitating" a toe injury can be to a player, as the team has seen stars like Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro miss time due to toe problems.
"I don't want to say this because it's not like that, but when athletes get turf toe, it's a debilitating injury. Wiggs doesn't have that," Spoelstra said before Sunday's contest against Detroit. "But we'll just treat him. Every injury is different. So he's dealing with both things right now, we think we can fix it in the short term, and we'll just see. He's getting a lot of treatment, so it's definitely helping, and he's making some progress, but let me be clear, he does not have turf toe. I was trying to make a point about the importance of the toe or how debilitating it can be."
Erik Spoelstra talks about Andrew Wiggins' toe injury and how debilitating it can be, emphasizing that it is not turf toe.
When asked what the Heat are missing with Wiggins off the field, how he deserves more attention, and what Myron Gardner has done with the starters: #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/wY22pnrq1t
- Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) 8 March 2026
While Wiggins is an important part of the starting lineup, so is Powell, who has missed the last four games due to a groin strain and was initially labeled as "week-to-week" by the team. With an unknown timeline for the team's leading scorer, Spoelstra would say Powell is "definitely capable of doing more."
"So again, I think we locked him down at a responsible time to be able to try to fast-track it. But I don't have any updates on this timeline, but he's definitely doing more," Spoelstra said.
Erik Spoelstra doesn't have a timeline for Norman Powell or Simon Fontecchio.
Although Powell says he is capable of doing more: #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/gxWhcMAtlx
- Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) 8 March 2026
Major stars missing from standouts who bring energy in the form of heat
While the Heat are dealing with injuries to Wiggins, Powell and others, the team has players who can step up and try to fill the void. Myron Gardner started in Friday's win over the Hornets and played well in adding energy in the absence of key players.
Spoelstra would explain to ClutchPoints how Wiggins is "quietly" one of the better two-way players in the NBA, and though they're not asking Gardner to fill the shoes, he fits in well with the starters.
"Wiggins is one of the most underrated two-way players in the association," Spoelstra said. Wiggins is averaging 15.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, while shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 39.9 percent from deep. "He's doing some really impressive things for us defensively, guarding one through five and making all the big, high-usage player challenges. He's doing it quietly, for some reason, I don't know why people aren't recognizing it, and then offensively, you know, he just fits into our system. You know, he can really score in transition. If you sleep on him, he can easily put a 30 on you. That's why he missed."
“But Myron has given us a lot of impactful minutes throughout the season,” Spoelstra continued. "You know, we're not expecting him to fill Wiggs' spot. It's not his responsibility, but he can do the job that he's doing, which is extremely active on both sides of the floor, great rebounder, and he just comes in with the kind of effort and energy that helps any lineup - Spo if Wiggs and Gardner are the starter."
With Gardner recently upgraded from a two-way to a standard contract, he and others look to help Miami until Wiggin and Powell return.
