MIAMI (AP) - Heat center Jamaal Magloire will miss at least six weeks with a broken left hand, and could be sidelined even longer if surgery is required to repair the fracture.
Magloire was injured in Miami's preseason overtime loss against New Jersey in Paris on Thursday. He returned to South Florida after the game, while the Heat remained behind for a rematch with the Nets on Sunday in London."It's unfortunate what happened," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said in London on Saturday. "He was just starting to get into his rhythm. He got himself into great condition, lost a couple percent body fat, over 10 pounds. So it's unfortunate but we've got to move forward and now we get a look at the other guys, and they're ready to go."
Magloire's fracture was reset without surgery, which would minimize his recovery time. If the procedure, called a closed reduction, doesn't work, surgery to insert screws remains an option and would be a more significant setback for Magloire, a former All-Star who was looking to revive his career in Miami this season.
With Magloire out indefinitely, the Heat will see more of Joel Anthony and David Padgett at center.
Only two weeks into camp, Miami is dealing with several injury issues.
In addition to Magloire, point guard Chris Quinn - perhaps the favorite to be the opening-night starter - will not play Sunday because of a sprained ankle suffered in Miami in the preseason opener against Detroit. Guard Shaun Livingston (knee) and forward Dorell Wright (knee) also won't play Sunday, and forwards Udonis Haslem (foot) and James Jones (wrist) will be game-time decisions.
But even with the team off to an 0-2 start in the exhibition schedule, Spoelstra said he still isn't overly concerned about wins and losses at this point in camp.
"It's important for us to play well and play productively and improve," Spoelstra said.
The Heat are scheduled to return to South Florida on Monday.
