<\/p>\n
Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) dribbles around San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes (40) during the first half of the game on March 23, 2026, at Kaseya Center in Miami.<\/p>\n
Alie Skowronski<\/p>\n
askowronski@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
TORONTO<\/p>\n
There\u2019s good news and bad news regarding Miami Heat guard Norman Powell\u2019s status.<\/p>\n
The good news: Despite being listed as questionable for Thursday night\u2019s matchup against the Raptors in Toronto due to right groin soreness, Powell said Thursday morning he will be available to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m feeling good,\u201d Powell said after Thursday\u2019s morning shootaround at Scotiabank Arena. \u201cI just woke up with some tightness. I did all the steps necessary to be able to see how I feel, see if I\u2019ll be able to play. I\u2019m playing so it\u2019s not too big of a deal for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bad news: Powell believes his groin issue will continue to linger until he gets an extended break in the offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have muscle strains and things like that, you can rehab and everything. But it takes time,\u201d Powell said. \u201cYou just need rest, and I just feel like I need rest. I need time to let the body do what it needs to do. But even though I can get it to a certain point where it feels good, there\u2019s no pain and everything, it doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s 100% healed. So then over time, an accumulated amount of stress on that area, then it starts to flare back up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Powell, 32, first missed time this season due to his right groin when he was sidelined for three straight games in late October and early November because of a right groin strain.<\/p>\n
Powell\u2019s right groin didn\u2019t force him to miss games again until late February and early March, when he was held out of seven straight games because of another right groin strain.<\/p>\n
Now, Powell is back on the injury report with right groin soreness. But he is expected to play through the pain on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good thing is that there\u2019s no event that happened or like a pop or anything that occurred to where it\u2019s like it\u2019s something bigger,\u201d Powell said. \u201cIt\u2019s just like accumulated stress. The scar tissue probably hasn\u2019t healed the way it needed to or hasn\u2019t had the time to properly heal because we do the rehab or whatever and we get it to where there\u2019s no pain.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then I go back out there and I\u2019m playing and I\u2019m doing things and I\u2019m doing my workouts and I\u2019m doing all this stuff that I normally do in my normal routine. And then it starts to open back up. So I won\u2019t be able to fully get to 100% until I have an adequate amount of time to be able to rest and do a full rehab on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Powell was the Heat\u2019s lone All-Star this season after a strong start to the season, but injuries have limited him since the All-Star break. Entering Thursday, he has missed 12 of the Heat\u2019s 23 games since the break \u2014 seven because of a right groin strain, one because of left calf tightness and four because of an illness.<\/p>\n
Powell entered Thursday averaging a team-high and career-high 21.9 points per game while shooting 47.1% from the field and 38.3% from three-point range this season.<\/p>\n
After Thursday\u2019s contest in Toronto, the Heat has just two regular-season games to play before making its fourth straight appearance in the NBA\u2019s play-in tournament next week. Miami will finish the regular season with a game against the Washington Wizards on Friday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun) before returning home to close the regular-season schedule on Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the groin now that\u2019s been flaring up here and there,\u201d said Powell, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason unless he agrees to an extension with the Heat ahead of free agency. \u201cThere has not been one incident where I popped it or I tore it or things like that. It\u2019s just accumulated stress over time, which causes soreness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Injury report<\/p>\n
While Powell is expected to play Thursday, the Heat has ruled out forward Nikola Jovic (left ankle sprain).<\/p>\n
In addition, the Heat remains without guard Terry Rozier (not with team). The Heat is expected to release Rozier before 5 p.m. on Friday to open a roster spot to promote one of its current two-way contract players to a standard deal.<\/p>\n
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