Miami Heat Lose Tyler Johnson To Shoulder Surgery
The Miami Heat received some bad news in regards to Tyler Johnson‘s shoulder, as he will undergo surgery and miss two or more months.
The Miami Heat have been battling injuries throughout the 2015-16 season. They have seen the frontcourt get decimated, as Chris Anderson and Josh McRoberts have played in less than half the team’s games this season. In the middle of January the backcourt was hit hard, as Goran Dragic, Beno Udrih and Dwyane Wade dealt with a multitude of injuries.
With those players beginning to get healthier, the Heat were finally starting to put things back together. They are currently riding a four-game winning streak with impressive victories over the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks. But, the injury bug must like the Heat because it came back and hit them hard once again.
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This time, it was to combo guard Tyler Johnson. Johnson, who has been dealing with a nagging shoulder injury all season, has been able to play in 36 of 48 games despite the injury, but has missed the last two games. He will now miss an extended period of time, as Johnson is expected to undergo surgery on his injured left shoulder this week to try and fix the problem.
The news has been confirmed by multiple outlets, as Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo! was the first to report the news.
Miami's Tyler Johnson will undergo surgery on his left shoulder this week and likely out two-plus months, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 1, 2016
This is a huge blow for Johnson, who has worked tirelessly to get himself into the Heat’s rotation. After going undrafted out of Fresno State last season, Johnson latched on with the Heat and appeared in 32 games as a rookie. This season he was entrenched in the lineup off the bench as a combo guard, even being pushed into the starting lineup on occasion with the injuries the Heat dealt with in the backcourt.
It is something the Heat will miss for the next two-plus months, as Spoelstra will have to find a new spark for the second unit with Johnson sidelined.
This loss will be a tough one for the Heat to overcome as they do not have many other options to turn to in their backcourt to replace Johnson. Udrih will have to take over more minutes as the backup point guard, while rookie Justise Winslow and Gerald Green will probably see more minutes at shooting guard. Josh Richardson could now also find himself in the rotation, as he had been getting minutes with the recent rash of injuries in the backcourt.
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None of those players possess the skill set that Johnson has, as the combo guard was relied on to do multiple things for the second unit. He was able to be a playmaker, initiating the offense while also providing energy and a spark off the bench.