Miami, FL
Jimmy Butler sidelined vs. Pistons by foot bruise, his 20th missed game of season
DETROIT — The shorthanded Miami Heat became even more shorthanded Sunday, with forward Jimmy Butler listed as out against the Detroit Pistons due to a bruised right foot.
That latest news comes in the wake of the Heat ruling out forward Nikola Jovic on Saturday due to a strained right hamstring.
Those absences come with the Heat starting this four-game trip already without guard Tyler Herro and forward Kevin Love. Herro is dealing with ongoing tendinitis in his right foot, and Love is sidelined by a bruised right heel.
In addition to being without those four for Sunday’s matinee against the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena, the Heat also lost guard Josh Richardson earlier this month to season-ending shoulder surgery.
Sunday’s absence is the 20th of the season for Butler. He missed the third game of the season for rest, another game early in the season for personal reasons, two in November for an ankle sprain, four in December for calf strain, seven in January with a toe sprain, three in February for personal reasons, one in late February for a league suspension, and now the foot issue.
Since joining the Heat in the 2019 offseason, Butler, 34, has yet to play more than 64 regular-season games, his total last season.
For Herro, Sunday was the 11th consecutive game missed, the last eight with the foot issue. He is expected to miss at least one more week, and possibly longer, after taking an injection to the foot last week.
Love has missed the past nine games since Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton landed on his foot in the Heat’s Feb. 27 road victory.
For Jovic, Sunday is the first game missed this season due to injury.
Lowry reunion
Monday night’s game in Philadelphia on the second night of this back-to-back set will have the Heat facing Kyle Lowry for the first time since the veteran point guard was dealt in January to the Charlotte Hornets for Terry Rozier. Lowry subsequently was bought out by the Hornets and signed by his hometown 76ers.
Lowry’s statistics with the 76ers largely have mirrored his numbers with the Heat this season. He is playing 28.5 minutes per game in his 11 appearances with the 76ers, averaging 7.9 points on .412 shooting from the field and .349 shooting on 3-pointers, with 5.2 assists per game. In his 37 appearances with the Heat, he averaged 8.2 points on .426 shooting from the field and .385 shooting on 3-pointers, with 4.0 assists per game.
Lowry and the 76ers also are scheduled to visit Kaseya Center on April 4 to conclude the four-game season series.
The 76ers continue to play in the injury absence of center Joel Embiid, who underwent knee surgery on Feb. 6, with it uncertain whether he will return this season.
Asked if he believed Embiid would be back before the postseason, 76ers coach Nick Nurse said Saturday, “I’m still hoping so and pretty confident, yes.”
Embiid, who tore the meniscus in his left knee on Jan. 30, missed the teams’ first two meetings, a pair of Heat victories. The 76ers are 8-13 amid Embiid’s current absence.
Little relief
After the back-to-back set against the Pistons, the schedule largely is challenging for the Heat through the April 14 close of the regular season.
Starting Monday, the Heat’s next five games are against the teams with winning records, against the 76ers (37-30), Cleveland Cavaliers (42-25), New Orleans Pelicans (41-26), Cleveland Cavaliers again (42-25) and Golden State Warriors ((35-31).
In addition, the Heat also have games remaining against the New York Knicks (40-27), 76ers again (37-30) and Indiana Pacers (38-30).
Should the CFP committee rethink the playoff schedule format?
Extended breaks and logistical challenges have reopened questions about whether the College Football Playoff committee should adjust the playoff schedule format.
Mississippi football’s Nick Cull avoided an ejection during the College Football Playoff Fiesta Bowl semifinal on Thursday, Jan. 8.
As Malachi Toney reeled in a catch from Carson Beck at the Miami 49 in the first quarter, he was hit by Cull in a helmet-to-helmet collision. Right away, the officials flagged Cull for targeting, with both Toney and Cull staying down on the field with an injury.
After officials reviewed the play, the call on the field was overturned, as the officials determined that Cull did not launch and the collision seemed to be incidental. Replay assistant Matt Austin concurred with the call on the field.
The play had a major impact on the game as well. If the call had been upheld, Miami would have had the ball at the Ole Miss 34-yard line with a chance to expand its 3-0 lead. However, a few plays later, the Hurricanes were forced to punt from the 49-yard line.
On the first play of the second quarter, Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacey scored on a 73-yard run to give the Rebels a 7-3 lead.
Because he was not called for targeting, Cull was not ejected from the game, which means Ole Miss will have him for the remainder of the game, if he can clear the concussion protocol. He was in the tent following the play.
Cull has 15 total tackles and three pass deflections this season for the Rebels.
Meanwhile, Toney went to the medical tent briefly for the Hurricanes, but returned to the game.
A crash involving an unmarked Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office vehicle was reported in Northwest Miami-Dade on Thursday morning, and the morning commute was impacted as a result.
Few details have been released, but the crash was reported in the area of Northwest 79th street and Interstate 95.
Video from the scene showed that the vehicles had heavy damage.
The sheriff’s office said the crash also involved a civilian vehicle, and no injuries were reported.
No other information was released.
The Minnesota Timberwolves announced that guard Anthony Edwards is now available to play in Tuesday night’s game against the Miami Heat after originally being listed as questionable with right foot injury maintenance.
Here’s the rest of the injury report and game preview:
INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Tyler Herro: Available – Toe
Jaime Jaquez Jr.: Out – Ankle
Nikola Jovic: Available – Groin
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
TIMBERWOLVES
Anthony Edwards: Available – Foot
Terrence Shannon Jr.: Out – Foot
Joan Beringer: Out – G League
Game date, time and location: Tuesday, Jan. 6, 8:00 p.m. EST, Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: TV: Peacock,
Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida) 100.3 FM (Minnesota)
VITALS: The Miami Heat (20-16) and Minnesota Timberwolves (23-13) meet for the second and final regular season matchup after just facing off three days ago with Minnesota recording a, 125-115, win in Miami on January 3. The teams split the series, 1-1, last season with each squad winning on the road. The Heat are 36-35 all-time versus Minnesota during the regular season,
including 19-16 in home games and 17-19 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
G Davion Mitchell
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Norman Powell
F Andrew Wiggins
TIMBERWOLVES
G Donte DiVincenzo
G Anthony Edwards
C Rudy Gobert
F Jaden McDaniels
F Julius Randle
Spread: Heat +5.5 (-112), Timberwolves -5.5 (-108)
Moneyline: Heat +166, Timberwolves -198
Total points scored: 239.5 (over -106, under -114)
QUOTABLE
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra on the forced turnovers: “That is and has to be our identity. We have to play with a recklessness and activity level that exceeds our opponent, and thats not to put down our talent level or anything like that, it’s more about we look different when we’re flying around and making plays and making it tough for the opponent.”
For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
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