Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler missed his third straight game in the Heat’s 119-113 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day. It was the seventh game of the season that Butler has sat out. The Heat have won three straight games and are 4-3 with Butler this season.
NBA Rumors: Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving and Joel Embiid Injury Return Dates, Plus More
Miami (18-12) begins a five-game road West Coast trip on Thursday at Golden State (15-15). Will Butler play? That is up in the air. What is known is that Butler will be on the flight with the Heat when they leave Miami, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
“He’s going to go on this road trip with us,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We have another day before the next practice, two days before we get to San Francisco. I really don’t know right now what the timetable is. We’ll have a better idea by then.”
Butler’s rehab suffered a setback when he took ill over the weekend. If Butler misses any more time, Jaime Jaquez Jr. will likely remain in the starting lineup. Jaquez turned in a career night against the 76ers, recording his first double-double while setting a career-high with 31 points and 10 boards. He was 11 of 15 from the field and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.
Jaquez has scored in double-figures in three straight games. The 22-year-old rookie averages 15.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in his seven starts.
Miami has a few others dealing with injuries. Caleb Martin suffered a sprained ankle in the first quarter of Monday’s game. Martin’s status is still being determined, though Spoelstra spoke after the Christmas Day contest.
“Who knows?” Spoelstra said of the uncertainty with Martin. “You ask him and any player right now would say they’re fine. He sprained his ankle. I didn’t see footage of it. We’ll see how he responds.”
Haywood Highsmith (illness) and Josh Richardson (back) sat out the game against Philadelphia and are considered day-to-day.
Joel Embiid Status Undetermined
While Miami was without a few players last night, so was Philadelphia. The 76ers (20-11) were without Joel Embiid (ankle) and Nicolas Batum (hamstring).
Embiid didn’t even make the trip to South Beach due to the sprained right ankle. It was the big man’s first absence since Dec. 1; the Sixers are 0-4 without him this year. Embiid is reportedly undergoing daily treatment, with his status undetermined for Wednesday’s game versus Orlando.
“He’s doing OK,” said Nurse about Embiid before the Miami game. “He’s obviously not playing and not here. The status for the next game is still up in the air so he’s just getting a lot of treatment and doing OK.”
Meanwhile, Batum has missed three straight games and it looks like he will be out even longer.
Brandon Miller Day-to-Day
The Charlotte Hornets missed out on another significant injury on Saturday. Already without Mark Williams, LaMelo Ball, and Terry Rozier, the Hornets got a scare when Denver Nuggets Peyton Watson landed on Brandon Miller’s foot after he drove to the basket in the first quarter. Miller didn’t return to the game and is considered day-to-day with a sprained ankle, according to Charlotte Observer Roderick Boone.
It is the second time Miller has suffered an ankle injury. He suffered a left ankle sprain Nov.12 against the Knicks and dealt with the injury throughout the month, but he only missed two isolated contests.
Miller, questionable for tonight’s game against the Clippers, has had his up-and-downs in his first NBA campaign. The 19-year-old has shot the ball decently well and averages 14.4 points with a shooting slash line of .436/.376/.788. However, he has struggled defensively and hasn’t rebounded that well.
Ball and Frank Ntikilina remain out, while Rozier isn’t on today’s injury report. However, Williams will likely miss his eighth straight game with a back injury as he is listed as doubtful.
“He’s moving around a lot better these last couple of days,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford told Boone. “I think he feels better. I don’t know how close he is. This is a good stretch for us because we had two days off and don’t play again until the 26th. So I’m hopeful. He’s in here doing his treatment and doing everything he can to get betterhere doing his treatment and doing everything he can to improve. But he was moving better today.”
Grant Williams Moved To Bench
Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd made a starting lineup adjustment prior to their 128-114 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Christmas Day night. Kidd benched Grant Williams in favor of Tim Hardaway Jr., who made his third straight start.
Williams will be coming off the bench for the foreseeable future. Kidd told ESPN’s Tim McMcMahon that his starting lineup, once Kyrie Irving returns from injury, would be Irving, Luka Doncic, Dante Exum, Derrick Jones Jr., and Dereck Liveley II.
The Mavs’ planned starting lineup once Kyrie Irving returns, per Jason Kidd:
Luka Doncic
Kyrie Irving
Dante Exum
Derrick Jones Jr.
Dereck Lively IIExum/Jones duo has +14.7 net rating in 190 minutes this season.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 26, 2023
Surprisingly, Kidd is making a change, especially now, with the Mavericks sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 18-12 record. Williams started the first 26 games he appeared in, averaging career-best with 9.3 points and 2.0 triples. But he wasn’t rebounding the ball well and struggled defensively. Williams has a +/- rating of -1.9, the worst among Mavericks regulars and fourth worst on the team.
However, Kidd did elaborate a little bit on why he was making the lineup change on Monday, inserting Exum in place of Williams. Kidd said that using a three-guard lineup would help break double teams.
“Speaking of trying to keep three ball handlers on the floor to start, especially with the way that we’ve seen the double teams, with Luka being able to have not just Kai but Dante out there to make decisions.”
Hardaway, having a bit of a resurgence, finished last night with 18 points and seven rebounds. It was his fourth straight double-figure effort and 24th of the season. Meanwhile, Williams contributed three points, three rebounds, one assist, two turnovers, and a season-best three blocks in 27 minutes of action, though he was still a -4 in plus/minus rating.
Speaking of Irving, he has missed nine straight games with a heel contusion and is in danger of missing the Mavs’ game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. Irving is doubtful to play, but that could change by tomorrow.
More About the Mavericks
Lively has impressed Kidd and Doncic through his first 24 appearances. The Mavericks are 17-7 in the 24 games the 19-year-old has played, including 23 starts. Lively has produced five double-doubles while averaging 9.4 points and 7.8 rebounds.
Lively has been incredibly efficient on the offensive end, shooting 74.5% from the field as he converts 83.8% of his attempts within three feet of the bucket. He also leads the Mavs with nearly 3.0 offensive rebounds a game and 1.5 blocks. His +4.0 plus/minus rating is second on the squad.
“Obviously, I knew he was going to be great, but the way he’s performed since the first game has been amazing,” Doncic said. “I didn’t expect this impact of him. He’s been playing like he’s been in the league 10 years already. I’m really proud of this guy. He works on his game and he listens to me.”
Doncic Milestone
Doncic reached the 10,000-point plateau by torching the Suns with a 50-point, 15-assist doubled-double masterpiece. The 24-year-old was fantastic in the game, knocking down 15 of 25 shots, including 8 of 16 from beyond the arc. He also grabbed six rebounds, came up with four steals, and blocked three shots. Doncic reached the milestone in 358 games, tying Bob McAdoo as the seventh fastest player to do so.
“I have never been on a team where someone is scoring the ball like this at such a high rate and also getting his teammates involved and making sure everybody feels comfortable on the floor,” said Doncic’s teammate Derrick Jones. “It’s incredible. It’s amazing. I have never seen this before.”
Doncic has now played on Christmas Days three times. He has improved his production on each occasion and averages 36.3 points, 10.3 assists, 6.3 rebounds, and 2. o steals while shooting 55% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc on Dec. 25.
Monday was Doncic’s first 50-point game of the season and the sixth time he has scored 40-plus points. He has now tallied 50 points on six occassions, recording three double-doubles simultaneously.
Doncic leads the NBA with 939 points and is second in the NBA in points per game at 33.5, behind only Joel Embiid (35.0).
