After the Miami Heat were on a four-game winning streak, they are now going in the opposite direction as they have dropped their last two games in the lead up to Wednesday night's contest against the Los Angeles Lakers. In that whole six-game span, star Jimmy Butler has been mostly absent.
Dealing with a left calf strain suffered in the loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 18, he came back in the Heat's last game of 2023 on Dec. 30 when they faced the Utah Jazz. However, he would suffer another injury, this time in the area of the foot. Having missed Miami's first game of 2024 against the Los Angeles Clippers, the question is simple.
Is Jimmy Butler playing tonight vs. the Lakers?
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Jimmy Butler injury status vs. Lakers
When facing a team like the Lakers where you will be facing the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Miami needs all the firepower they can get. However, Butler will be out Wednesday for the Heat as he deals with right foot irritation as announced by the team on their X account and on the official injury report.
#MIAvsLAL INJURY UPDATE: Jimmy Butler (foot) has been ruled out of tomorrow night's game vs the Lakers.
Caleb Martin (ankle) is listed as doubtful.
Josh Richardson (facet syndrome) is listed as questionable.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 3, 2024
The Heat faced the Lakers earlier in the season on Nov. 6 where they beat them, 108-107. Butler scored 28 points in that game to propel the tea to victory in the upset.
This will mark the tenth game of the season that Butler will miss which continues the Heat's continuous problem with injuries. However, Miami has done well recently without the star as the team was on a four-game winning streak before his return against the Jazz.
The main benefactor to the absence of Butler has been rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. who even has been compared to the 33-year old out of Marquette University. Jaquez has ran away with the opportunities given as even as a first-year player, he is polished and has the basketball IQ of a veteran.
His skills have been showcased in the recent road-trip, but his best game came on Christmas Day when the Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers where he scored a career-high 31 points and collected 10 rebounds. While he has filled in nicely, Butler is still the driving force of the team.
Other injuries besides Butler impacting the Heat
With the new foot injury, his status for future games is up in the air. Butler is not even the only player dealing with injuries as Haywood Highsmith is also out against the Lakers as he is in concussion protocol after as big hit in the game against Utah. Caleb Martin is also present on the injury report as he is doubtful for Wednesday's game with a right ankle sprain.
Josh Richardson is also on the report, but he is “questionable” with an injury labeled as “left back; facet syndrome.” Richardson has been dealing with back issues since the beginning of the seasons where it was labeled as “back spasms” then “lower back discomfort” and now the listing he has now.
Whatever the case may be, the Heat continue to deal with nagging injury issues that have plagued the team even since last season where it was an up-and-down year as the team was trying to find some cohesiveness. The Heat are currently 19-14 which puts them at fourth in the Eastern Conference.
So, when it comes to the question of if the Heat's Jimmy Butler is playing tonight vs. the Lakers on the road, he won't as he is still recovering from injury problems.
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