Is Gabe Vincent playing tonight against Celtics? | Latest injury update on Heat's star ahead of matchup (May 25, 2023)
Gabe Vincent has been dealing with an ankle injury during the 2023 Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. Due to this, he will miss a crucial Game 5 in Boston on Thursday night.
The Miami Heat guard has been fantastic this postseason, averaging 13.1 points per game. His 3-point shooting has helped the Heat reach the conference finals and take a 3-1 lead over the Celtics.
Unfortunately for Miami, Erik Spoelstra won't be able to count on Gabe Vincent in Game 5. He's listed as out on the injury report, which will give a huge boost to the Celtics.
Gabe Vincent's ankle injury will keep him sidelined against the Boston Celtics
The Miami Heat had a chance to sweep the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night, but they lost. The Celtics put on a great show, beating Miami by 17 points in the end, 116-99.
The next game of the series will be played in Boston, where the Celtics have lost two games of the series. However, they will play another elimination game, which is why they will play hard once again.
The Heat were short-handed even before the loss of Gabe Vincent. Tyler Herro is out with a hand injury, while Victor Oladipo was ruled out for the rest of the season with knee issues.
Gabe Vincent has appeared in 15 postseason games for the Heat, starting in all of them. He's averaging a career-high 13.1 points per game, along with 4.1 assists per game. Vincent has converted 37.5% of his long-range shots.
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In his first two games against the Celtics, the 6-foot-3 guard averaged 12.0 points on 44.4% shooting from beyond the arc. However, he caught fire in the past two games, improving his scoring average to 23.0 points and knocking down 66.7% of his field goals, including 53.8% of shots from long range.
It will be interesting to see who will replace Gabe Vincent in the starting lineup in Game 5. Kyle Lowry is the only point guard left on the team, but Erik Spoelstra may decide to use Jimmy Butler as a playmaker.
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Caleb Martin, a 6-5 forward, could replace Butler as a starting small forward. Max Strus will be at the shooting guard spot, while Kevin Love and Bam Adebayo will man the frontcourt.