As the Miami Heat prepare for the second game of the back to back Monday night as they face the Brooklyn Nets, they once again receive a lengthy injury report. However, there is a huge positive update regarding star Jimmy Butler who has missed the last 11 of 12 games.
Butler has been upgraded to “questionable” for Monday's game against the Nets according to the team's X (formerly known as Twitter) which is a huge sign for him to return to the starting lineup and play. If officially available, it will be the first time he has played since Dec. 30 against the Utah Jazz where he suffered the toe ailment. Specifically, the toe injury is labeled as a “sprained right 1st MP joint.”
Speaking to the media last Tuesday after practice, he said that he is progressing well, but needed a few more days to know more about his pain tolerance. After that media availability he missed three games including Miami's win over the Charlotte Hornets Sunday.
“It's progressing well. I just stepped wrong and I think the toe is a part of the foot, so it's like the toe, but it's the mid foot area,” Butler said. “But it's getting better. Moving a little bit better. Still got a couple more days honestly till we can get tolerable pain in there and then I'll be ready to go.”
Kevin Love, Kyle Lowry to miss Monday's game
While Butler could be in line to play, there are other key players that won't play against the Nets. One of them is Kevin Love who also missed Sunday's game against the Hornets due to a knee injury.
He has been huge for them as the team's back up center to star Bam Adebayo. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra puts a lot of trust in Love to be a “connector” to the team and never shies away if there is a chance to praise the long-time veteran.
“He's a glue guy, he's a connector, he makes a lot of lineups look better, and that's what great players do. And he's fully embraced this role. We've been embraced him as well,” Spoelstra said before Sunday's outing. “And he's a value add based on his ability to rebound, get us out into the open court. His IQ on both ends of the court. It's doesn't take a lot to figure out like why it works, if you can get a great player at this stage in their careers where they embrace this kind of role, that's a great thing.”
Kyle Lowry is another significant player that will most likely miss Monday's contest as he is listed as “doubtful” with the hand strain. He suffered the injury in last Monday's win to the Houston Rockets, he would then miss the next two games, then return Sunday, but should miss time again. However, this could be because they don't want extensive usage on a back-to-back with very little time to rest.
Jaquez will miss his first game of the regular season
The final big injury is to rookie sensation Jaime Jaquez Jr. who did not travel with the team and is out for the Nets game with a groin strain. This was already reported by ClutchPoints during the game as he was on pace for a record night, scoring 15 points in the first quarter.
However, he would sustain the injury in the second quarter and be kept out for the rest of the contest. There is some concern since it is the same injury that Jaquez missed two weeks over during the preseason, though the UCLA product said to the media after the game that it isn't as severe. Jaquez had played every game of the regular season which will come to an end tonight.
“I take a lot of pride in being able to be available and play games, even through things that are hurting and little injuries here and there,” Jaquez said. “But I think at this point, this is something that I’ve got to take a little more serious and take some time to just recuperate and get myself to 100 percent.”
Jaquez has won back to back Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards where in the month of December, he has averaged 16.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 84.9 percent from the foul line. An eye-opening statistic that the absence of Jaquez will impact is that he had played 315.8 fourth quarter minutes when he won the award, which was the most in the entire NBA.
Miami is 23-16 heading into Monday's contest against the Nets which puts them at fifth in the Eastern Conference. Entering Sunday's game against Charlotte, they were close to the bottom at the seventh seed.
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