Heat’s Josh Richardson returns to Miami for MRI. Also, Bam out and NBA games resume in L.A.

Miami Heat guard Josh Richardson’s frustrating season continues.

After Richardson traveled with the team to the West Coast in hopes of making his return from injury during this six-game trip, the Heat announced Monday that he has returned to Miami to undergo an MRI on his injured right heel.

Richardson, who has not played since Nov. 18, has been ruled out for both Monday and Wednesday’s games in Los Angeles because of lingering right heel inflammation. The Heat takes on the Clippers on Monday before facing the Lakers on Wednesday to end its six-game trip.

“It’s probably the most frustrating year I’ve had as a pro, definitely is,” Richardson said last week before returning to Miami. “You don’t let it take your love for the game, but it kind of puts a little cloud over your day sometimes where you know you’re working for so long, and a setback, and you’re working and a setback.”

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Along with playing in only eight games so far this season, Richardson also missed the final three-plus months of last season after undergoing labrum surgery to repair the instability in his right shoulder. His recovery from that surgery spilled into training camp and the preseason, but it’s the heel that kept him out for the opener and has been his biggest issue this season.

“My shoulder and my heels have been the biggest problem,” Richardson, 31, said. “The shoulder is good now. Heel, small things keep happening, it aggravates it.”

Richardson, who is in the final season of his contract and will become a free agent this upcoming summer, has logged just 149 minutes over his eight appearances this season.

BAM OUT

Along with missing Richardson, the Heat was without starting center Bam Adebayo on Monday against the Clippers.

After initially being listed as available, Adebayo was downgraded to questionable before eventually being ruled out for Monday’s contest because of a lower back contusion that he suffered when taking a hard fall during Saturday’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

It marked the first game that Adebayo has missed this season. The Heat has labeled Adebayo as day-to-day.

NBA GAMES RESUME IN LA

Amid the devastating wildfires in the area, NBA games resumed in Los Angeles on Monday after last week’s postponements. That means the Heat’s schedule is expected to move forward without any changes.

The Heat is in Los Angeles to play two games, beginning Monday against the Clippers at Intuit Dome before closing its six-game West Coast trip on Wednesday against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.

In addition to the Heat’s matchup against the Clippers, the Lakers will also host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.

“It’s tough to put into words the devastation that’s happened through these fires,” said Heat veteran Kevin Love, who was born in the Los Angeles area and attended college at UCLA. “So we just pray for those people, try to help out wherever we can, provide resources. But again, just heart, soul, head, everything is hurting for everyone.”

Lakers coach JJ Redick is among the many affected by the destructive wildfires in the Los Angeles area. Redick’s rental home was one of the structures lost to the Pacific Palisades fire.

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard missed Wednesday’s loss to the Nuggets in Denver to return to Los Angeles to be with his family, as the wildfires neared his Pacific Palisades home.

“It’s frustrating to see,” said Heat second-year forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., who was a lifelong Los Angeles resident before being drafted by Miami in 2023. “But I’m just praying for the families that are affected. I’m thankful for all the firefighters putting their lives on the line, trying to help do what they can.”

In total, three NBA games in Los Angeles were postponed because of the fires that started last week. The Lakers’ home games against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday and the Spurs on Saturday were postponed, and the Clippers’ home matchup against the Hornets on Saturday was also postponed.

But on Monday, the NBA resumes play in Los Angeles while a red flag warning is in place for parts of the city and county, with wind gusts of up to 70 mph forecast between 4 a.m. Tuesday and noon Wednesday. The Weather Service on Monday widened the area facing a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning in terms of wildfire risk in the coming days.

“I think the NBA, they have a good handle on things, what’s going on and what we need to do,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said to reporters. “So, when they make a decision, we’re all in. They know we are going through a tough time right now, the state of California. They understand that, and so, hopefully we can bring some kind of joy when the game comes back [Monday], some togetherness, try to put some smiles on people’s faces in tough times.”