The Miami Heat are doing their best to try and avoid getting stuck in the NBA Play-In Tournament in the Eastern Conference. However, they have hit some snags along the way, such as Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors.
Jimmy Butler was unavailable for the game, and the Heat got trounced in, losing 113-92. It was revealed that Butler is dealing with a non-COVID illness, as it was bad enough to keep him out of shootaround in the morning.
Butler was listed as questionable on the team’s injury report later in the day and eventually downgraded to out just a few hours before tip-off. “He’s sick,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Doesn’t feel well at all today.”
Tuesday night was the 22nd game of the season that Butler has missed. Luckily for Miami, the game against the Warriors was an anomaly for them this season without Butler in the lineup.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Miami Heat Updates
With him playing, the Heat have gone 26-24. Without him, they are 23-19, as they are more than holding their own without their best player available. That is encouraging for their rest-of-season outlook should Butler miss any more time or for when the minutes he is sitting during games and resting.
The difference, however, was that Tyler Herro was also out of the lineup on Tuesday night. That was his 16th consecutive game missed with a knee issue at first but is now dealing with a foot ailment. Miami’s depth was challenged with Kevin Love and Duncan Robinson also sidelined.
Overcoming that number of injuries is not an easy task, but every team in the NBA deals with them. The Heat have to figure out a way to stay afloat or risk dropping in the Eastern Conference standings.
Right now they are tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for seventh place, but own the tiebreaker so they are listed ahead. They are 1.5 games behind the Indiana Pacers for sixth place, which is the final one outside of the NBA Play-In Tournament.
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