With Jimmy Butler lacking his fifth consecutive recreation attributable to soreness in his proper knee Friday in opposition to the visiting Washington Wizards, the expectation is that he might be again in time for the Miami Heat’s two video games subsequent week in opposition to the Boston Celtics.
Butler final performed within the Nov. 18 highway loss to the Toronto Raptors, when he went 38 minutes two nights after enjoying 35 in a house victory in opposition to the Phoenix Suns. Two video games earlier than that, he performed 42 in an additional time victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
With Tyler Herro again from eight-game absence with an ankle sprain, and with Victor Oladipo working towards his season debut as he works again from his personal knee ache, the expectation is an try to considerably lighten the minutes load on Butler, who has three seasons past this on his contract, at $140 million.
At 35.7 minutes per recreation this season, Butler, 33 is averaging his excessive in minutes since he averaged 36.7 in 2017-18 beneath Tom Thibodeau with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Friday marks the seventh recreation Butler has missed this season of the Heat’s 20. He missed 25 video games final season, 20 in 2020-21 (when the 82-game NBA schedule was decreased to 72 by the pandemic) and 15 in his first Heat season, in 2019-20, when the schedule was decreased to 73 video games.
But two of the previous seasons even have included deep playoff runs fueled by Butler, which had him enjoying 806 postseason minutes over 21 appearances within the 2020 run inside two victories of an NBA championship, and 629 playoff minutes over 17 appearances in final season’s run inside one recreation of the NBA Finals.
The Heat schedule continues with a four-game journey that opens Sunday in opposition to the Atlanta Hawks, adopted by the video games in Boston, after which a recreation in opposition to the Memphis Grizzlies,
Robinson out
In addition to Butler, Oladipo and heart Omer Yurtseven (ankle surgical procedure) having been dominated out a day earlier, guarda Duncan Robinson and Max Strus formally have been dominated out Friday afternoon for Friday evening’s recreation.
For Robinson, who turned his left ankle in Sunday evening’s highway loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, it’s a third consecutive recreation missed with the sprain. That Cleveland recreation was a return after lacking the earlier recreation, a highway loss in Washington, with a sprained proper hand.
Until that absence in Washington, Robinson had by no means missed a recreation attributable to damage in his five-year NBA profession.
Strus first was sidelined with an impingement of his proper shoulder on Wednesday evening, a recreation after he shot 7 of 23 in a loss in Minnesota.
In addition, a non-COVID sickness apparently goes across the group. That had ahead Caleb Martin and Jamal Cain on Friday’ damage report, as nicely.
They’re free
Point guard Kyle Lowry went into Friday’s recreation having tried 20 free throws in his earlier two video games. Prior to these video games of 11 and 9 free throws, Lowry had not tried greater than eight in a recreation this season.
“Without Jimmy, we’ve got to find ways to get some relief points and get to the line,” Lowry mentioned. “Jimmy is one of the best in the league of getting to the line. My biggest thing is Coach wants me to push a little more and create some opportunities and just get in there and playing with pace and with energy and effort.” . . .
With Friday’s recreation finishing an eight-day run of three video games in opposition to the Wizards, it marks solely the second time within the franchise’s 35 seasons that Heat confronted the identical group thrice over an eight-day span. The different time was April 19-26 1999 in opposition to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com