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Jimmy Butler upgraded to doubtful; Tyler Herro added to Heat injury report

ira winderman, south florida sun-sentinel
·4 min read
Jimmy Butler upgraded to doubtful; Tyler Herro added to Heat injury report

MIAMI — The Miami Heat’s injury report for Friday night’s home game against the Orlando Magic is a mixed bag.

Forward Jimmy Butler, who has missed the past five games with a toe issue, was upgraded to doubtful. The expectation is that if Butler does not return Friday, he will play either Sunday at home against the Charlotte Hornets or Monday at the Brooklyn Nets, but not both, because of the back-to-back set. Butler has missed nine of the past 10 games, when also factoring in a four-game absence with a calf strain.

Also upgraded was forward Caleb Martin, who is listed as questionable, after missing the past seven games with a sprained right ankle.

Uncertainty, however, remains with point guard Kyle Lowry, who is listed as doubtful, after missing Wednesday night’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder with the sprained left hand that took him out of Monday night’s victory over the Houston Rockets at the start of this four-game homestand.

Added to the injury report was guard Tyler Herro, who is listed as questionable with a strained right shoulder. Herro is coming off an uneven 7-of-21 shooting night against the Thunder.

In addition, guard RJ Hampton has been sent to the G League, where he will join Cole Swider with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

With Butler and Lowry out Wednesday night, the Heat against the Thunder opened with their 20th lineup in their 37 games. Only the Dallas Mavericks, with 21, have had more starting lineups this season.

Wednesday night’s starters were Bam Adebayo, Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Herro.

“We’ve had a lot of different starting lineups,” coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged, with No. 21 possible on Friday, “and I’m trying to keep as much consistency as possible, and that’s the thought process behind that one.”

Jaquez has now started in 13 of his 37 appearances, with Jovic having started four of the past five games, after only one previous start this season.

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For the Magic, Wendell Carter Jr. (knee) is questionable for Friday. Listed as out by Orlando are Gary Harris (calf), Kevon Harris (G League), Jett Howard (G League), Jonathan Isaac (illness) and Franz Wagner (ankle).

Still trailing

Butler remained fourth in fan voting among Eastern Conference frontcourt players in voting for All-Star Game starters in Thursday’s latest release of those numbers, with Adebayo dropping to seventh in that vote. Herro was not among the top 10 in voting for East backcourt All-Star starters.

Fan voting counts 50 percent in the process, with player and media voting each counting for 25 percent in determining the three frontcourt starters and two backcourt starters in each conference.

Still ahead of Butler in the East frontcourt voting, in order, are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum.

Fan voting concludes on Jan. 20, with All-Star starters to be announced on Jan. 25 for the Feb. 18 All-Star Game in Indiana. Coaches then will select the seven All-Star reserves in each conference.

Jaquez is expected to participate in the Rookie Challenge on Feb. 16 and the dunk contest during All-Star Saturday on Feb. 17.

Community effort

Former Heat players Alonzo Mourning and Glen Rice, as well as former WNBA player and Heat executive Ruth Hunter, were among those from the team to participate in a food distribution event Thursday at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Montessori Academy School in Miami Heat.

The event, held in advance of Monday’s Martin Luther King Day when the Heat will be playing in Brooklyn, provided more than 200 families with food staples.

On a roll

The Heat shot 15 of 36 on 3-pointers in Wednesday night’s loss to the Thunder at Kaseya Center, improving to .406 at home beyond the arc, second in the NBA in home 3-point percentage only to the Indiana Pacers (.410) . . .

With his 25 points and 11 rebounds Wednesday, Adebayo remains one of six NBA players averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, along with Antetokounmpo, Embiid, Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis.

Khaled added

The Heat have added DJ Khaled as a postgame performer as part of the team’s Sunday ceremony honoring of Dwyane Wade’s 2023 Hall of Fame induction.

Khaled, a longtime Heat fan, will be part of the celebration after the game against the visiting Hornets, with Wade to address the crowd at halftime. Wade’s Hall of Fame acknowledgment already is hanging from the rafters.