Jimmy Butler’s last 15 games helped earn him an All-Star place, but the veteran’s knee injury provides another change for the Eastern Conference defending champions.
Miami’s lineup rubble continues Sunday against the Hawks, as All-Star guard Jimmy Butler misses his first game of the month due to a knee injury. Over his last 15 games, Butler averaged 21.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 8.7 assists while picking up the heat from a slow start to a thick Eastern Conference playoff race.
“We want to be proactive about it,” heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Butler’s injury. “It will be from day to day from here.”
Second-year guard Tyler Herro, meanwhile, slips back to the lineup after missing the previous three games with a hip injury. The previous lottery pick gets an average of 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists despite a changing career due to a loss of Miami injuries and an early-season bout with COVID-19.
#ATLvsMIA INJURY UPDATE: Tyler Herro (hip) will be available tonight vs the Hawks.
Jimmy Butler (knee) was removed.
– Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 28, 2021
Eastern Conference defending champions have taken a second-hand approach to a season hit with uncertainty. Fourteen different heat players have started at least one game this season. Only three – Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson, and Kelly Olynyk – had started more than two-thirds of Miami games coming in Sunday night.