Season debut represents ‘big step’ for Victor Oladipo. How can he help the Heat?

Yes, it came in arguably the Miami Heat’s worst loss of the season, but the return of guard Victor Oladipo still provided an uplifting moment during an otherwise rough time for the Heat.

After missing the first 24 games of the season because of left knee tendinosis, Oladipo made his season debut in Tuesday’s 116-96 loss to the Detroit Pistons at FTX Arena. He finished with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field and 1-of-4 shooting on threes, two rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes off the bench.

“Obviously, it wasn’t the result we wanted or I wanted. But it’s definitely good to play again,” Oladipo said, with the Heat continuing its three-game homestand Thursday against the Los Angeles Clippers (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Sun and NBA TV). “It’s just good to be out there.”

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Oladipo, 30, will now try to stay healthy and available after spending much of the past four years rehabbing from injuries. Even before his latest setback that forced him to miss nearly the first two months of this season, Oladipo had already endured two long recoveries stemming from a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee in January 2019 that required a second surgery in May 2021.

“From a human side of it, forget about the basketball or how he performed or what it looked like,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said following Oladipo’s season debut on Tuesday. “I don’t want to say I don’t care or that it’s irrelevant. But the human side of it is you’re really happy for him. He’s been through a lot in the last three-plus years. He’s had to show a great deal of perseverance and fortitude to do most of his work when nobody is even paying attention. That can be very lonely, and it’s tough on anybody. So for him to just get back out there, I think was a big step for him.”

Oladipo, who signed a two-year, $18.2 million contract with the Heat this past summer that includes a $9.5 million player option for next season, resumed practicing with the Heat and began traveling with the team on trips last month before making his return.

Because of Oladipo’s injury issues, Tuesday marked just the 13th regular-season game that he has appeared in with the Heat since Miami acquired him in a trade in March 2021.

“We came up with a whole plan awhile ago,” Oladipo said the ramp-up process that led to Tuesday’s return. “So just following the guidelines, listening to my body, seeing how I respond to the load, seeing how I respond to playing and being active and working out and stuff. Within the last two or three weeks, I’ve been doing really well, responding really well. So we just felt like this was a good day to come back and try to come out here and play. I felt good. That’s the bright side of everything is that my body feels good.”

Oladipo’s return doesn’t solve all of the Heat’s problems, but he definitely can help as a two-way player who has the ability to create offense for himself and others while also serving as a solid on-ball defender.

With guard Tyler Herro, the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year, becoming a fixture in the Heat’s starting lineup this season, the team’s hope is that Oladipo can help fill the void as a sixth man spark. Miami’s bench entered Wednesday averaging the second-fewest points in the NBA at 26.6 per game after leading the NBA in bench scoring last season at 40.5 points per game.

“I think he gives you another dynamic scorer,” Heat guard Kyle Lowry said of Oladipo. “I think he gives you another defender. I think he gives you another playmaking guy ... He just gives us another guy who has the versatility of being a playmaker, shotmaker and also a good defender.”

Oladipo was voted to the NBA All-Star Game, NBA All-Defensive First Team and All-NBA Third Team in 2017-18 as a member of the Indiana Pacers prior to his two knee surgeries.

While it’s unfair to expect Oladipo to return to pre-injury form this season, he has the ability to help the Heat on both ends of the court if he can remain healthy. In an effort to keep him off the injury report, Miami will continue to take a cautious approach with Oladipo’s minutes and workload for the foreseeable future.

“We’ll temper the expectations because there will be a minutes restriction for whatever ‘X’ period of time,” Spoelstra said. “But the most important thing is he’s feeling great. As I was walking here [for the postgame news conference], he’s already in the weight room getting some extra work. That’s a good sign that the minutes were fine, and I think that’s because it was an appropriate healthy plan the last few weeks to get him to this point.”

INJURY REPORT

The Heat ruled out Jamal Cain (G League), Gabe Vincent (left knee effusion) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) for Thursday’s game against the Clippers.

Jimmy Butler (right knee injury management and Dewayne Dedmon (left foot plantar fasciitis) are listed as questionable.

Herro (left ankle sprain), Haywood Highsmith (right ankle sprain), Nikola Jovic (right foot plantar fasciitis), Oladipo (left knee tendinosis), Duncan Robinson (left ankle sprain) and Max Strus (right shoulder impingement) are probable to play.