Miami Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler missed practice on Sunday for an “excused absence.”
Heat teammate Jae Crowder made a somewhat confusing comment about Butler needing to get “out of quarantine,” which only leads to more questions:
Jae Crowder on Jimmy Butler's status: "We want to talk to him as soon as he gets out of quarantine or whatever he's in. But it's just next-man-up mentality."
No update from Heat other than saying Butler was not at practice today because of an "excused absence."
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) August 2, 2020
At the time of writing, Butler's absence seems to be simply a day off:
Word remains just a day off for Butler. https://t.co/feFC0ZXoDh
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) August 2, 2020
But, again, Crowder's comments leave questions. Did Butler leave the bubble and does he need to be quarantined before returning to play? Did he test positive for COVID-19? We'll surely find out soon enough.
Miami opened up its seeding games with an impressive 125-105 drubbing of the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. Butler led the way with 22 points on 6-for-11 shooting (10-for-11 from the free-throw line) to go along with seven assists. Miami's other 2019-20 All-Star selection, Bam Adebayo, added 22 points (7-12 FG, 8-10 FT), nine rebounds, and six assists. Both players provided their customarily tone-setting defense, as well.
The win puts the Heat at 42-24, which is good for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Miami will face the defending champion Toronto Raptors (47-18) on Monday. Toronto had an equally impressive seeding game debut on Saturday, as they pulled away from the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter to seal a 107-92 victory.
There's no word yet on Butler's status for Monday. The Heat will obviously need their best player on both ends against Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, and the Raptors. Butler is averaging 20.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists this season.