Is Kevin Love all right? That question may have collectively reached the minds of attendees at the Kesaya Center barely a few minutes ago. Acquired by the Miami Heat last year, the power forward/center had been slowly making his mark alongside Jimmy Butler and co. He certainly has created a valuable impression on head coach Erik Spoelstra, who has referred to him as a “connector” from time to time. Therefore, it may sting if what happened recently ends up having long-term consequences.

Earlier today, Kevin Love was seen exiting the matchup between the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks. According to reports, he headed to the locker room after having sustained back spasms. Due to this, the player is not set to return for the duration of the game.

According to the New York Times, Kevin Love had been looking for ways to use his limited minutes in a memorable manner. He may have arrived at the home game with the same mindset as well. Unfortunately, his sustained injury only limited his minutes further. He stayed on the court for only 7 minutes and scored 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 0 assists.

With Love’s exit, reports suggested that Nikola Jovic, Thomas Bryant, and Kel’el Ware would receive an increase in their playing time. With 8:07 minutes remaining in the 4 quarter, and the Heat trailing by 86-91, only Kel’el Ware received playing time. However, Anthony Chiang reported that Ware covered for Bam Adebayo. The referees called the 27-year-old Center for his fourth foul with 7:13 left in the third quarter. Ware has now scored 2 points in his 9 minutes on the court.

Depending on the seriousness of his injury, Love’s next chance to play can arrive as soon as Wednesday. After all, the Miami Heat will take on the Charlotte Hornets in the next few hours. However, official sources won’t reveal whether the same will be possible or not until further updates are provided. When talking about the player himself, Love may be experiencing a certain level of discomfort at the moment. After all, he hasn’t reportedly experienced something like back spasms in quite a while.

Has Kevin Love suffered from a back injury before?

Kevin Love has reportedly experienced back spasms quite a few times over the course of his NBA career. The first bout came back in 2012. Another came in 2014, when the player was in his first season with the then LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers. Similarly to 10 years later, Love had exited the game against the Atlanta Hawks. He had not fully played the first game of the season. Love had to exit after playing for 24 minutes, and scoring 7 points and 7 rebounds on 1-of-8 shooting.

In 2017, still with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Love had to exit the matchup against the Golden State Warriors after another back spasm attack. This aligned with other ailments the player experienced and caused him to miss four other games that season. Then head coach continued resting him for a duration, stating “No test. Just spasms. We’re not resting him, he’s hurt.”

If the past is any indication, then the team won’t be able to heal the player’s injury enough in time to make him available for the upcoming matchup. Furthermore, a repeat of the same injury may not be a good sign, as his situation this time could be worse. Once again, however, officials must provide updates before anyone can say anything for sure.