Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler will miss his fourth straight game as the team embarks on a five-game road trip that starts Thursday night against the Golden State Warriors according to the team on their X (formerly known as Twitter) account. He has been suffering from a left calf strain that he sustained on Dec. 18 when the Heat faced the Minnesota Timberwolves.

While it is obviously a big loss for Miami, the team has won their last three games with Butler absent as they look to keep the winning streak alive tonight on the road. With the 34-year old out, the main benefactor has been rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. who has been inserted into the starting lineup with the injury. Funny enough, the UCLA product shares similarities with Butler in the way they play.

The rookie sensation showcased his talents in the Heat's Christmas Day win over the Philadelphia 76ers where he scored a career-high 31 points and collected 10 rebounds. Still, Butler is the driving force of the Heat's success since his debut for the team as this season, he was averaging 21.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game.

Other injuries for the Heat

Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra, Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin, and Haywood Highsmith in front of the city skyline.

There's no doubt that Butler is the biggest absence for the team, but he's just one in the laundry list of players that are on the injury report for the team. Point guard Kyle Lowry will also miss Thursday's game against the Warriors due to “soreness,” the same reason why he was out for the aforementioned Timberwolves game.

The usual back-up point guard in Josh Richardson is doubtful for the game with lower back discomfort. So who will be the starting point guard of this team? It is possible they lean heavily on Tyler Herro to bring up the ball up the court and play the position as he has done in the past and even star big-man Bam Adebayo has shown play-making abilities.

Caleb Martin will also be out for the game as he deals with an ankle sprain that he suffered against the Sixers in Miami's last game. While he said after practice Wednesday that he is feeling better and the X-ray came back “clean,” they will be safe with Martin as he has dealt with ankle injuries since the preseason.

A notable absence from the injury repot for Miami

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Not mentioned in the team's announcement on social media is Duncan Robinson who was questionable with a left ankle sprain. It could be a good sign that he is not talked about as it might mean he's good to go to play for the Heat as they now desperately need some guard play.

Butler's next chance to play will be the last regular season game of 2023 when the Heat play against the Utah Jazz on Dec. 30. If he can't, he has two more opportunities to start the New Year when Miami will play the duo of Los Angeles teams in the Clippers and Lakers.

The Heat are 18-12 which puts them at fifth in the Eastern Conference, but in their last 25 games, they have won 17 of them, even dealing with the constant injury problems. On the other hand, the Warriors are 15-15 which is good for tenth in the Western Conference, but they were just recently on a five-game winning streak before it was snapped by the Denver Nuggets on Christmas Day.

The two teams will play tonight at 10:00 p.m. (EST) at the Chase Center as both are still looking to find some continuity and consistency.