This time last year, Shabazz Napier was preparing to lead his Connecticut Huskies to a Final Four win against the NCAA Tournament’s top seeded Florida Gators. Napier and the Huskies were successful and would go on to win the NCAA Championship game. Napier won the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. This April hasn’t started quite as magical for Napier as he underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia on Wednesday, the first day of April. The surgery will sideline Napier for the Heat’s final seven games as they fight to win one of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spots.

In 51 games with the Heat this year, Napier averaged 19.8 minutes, 5.1 points, and 2.5 assists per game. He started only 10 games the whole season for Miami. Although Napier’s role wasn’t a big one for the Heat, he will definitely be missed.

The Heat have struggled to stay healthy throughout the season. They’ve already lost Josh McRoberts and Chris Bosh for the season. Dwyane Wade has missed several games with knee and hamstring issues. Goran Dragic had a bad fall on a layup attempt last month that forced him to miss some games due to a back injury, and he’s still not 100 percent. Hassan Whiteside missed three games last week with 10 stitches on his hand and is attempting to play with tape on his hand. Chris Andersen also missed three games last week with a calf injury. Luol Deng missed Tuesday night’s game with a left knee injury. Udonis Haslem, Tyler Johnson, and James Ennis all are currently sick or just getting over an illness.

Clearly, the Heat could use some fresh legs down the stretch as they attempt to make the playoffs. Losing Shabazz Napier for the season is a major blow to the Heat who can’t afford to lose anybody at this point. Although the Heat have ruled Napier out for the rest of the regular season, they have not ruled him out for the playoffs if the team is able to make it. They currently own the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Brooklyn Nets and half a game ahead of the Boston Celtics.

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About the author
Blake Hesser
Blake writes Basketball, Baseball, and Football for Vavel. The teams he covers include the Heat, the Marlins, and the Dolphins.