On Saturday, it was reported that Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler (ankle) was expected to make his return to the floor in the team’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Jimmy Butler questionable for Pacers game tomorrow. Expectation is he will make return for that game after ankle injury.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) November 16, 2024
Jimmy Butler (ankle) upgraded to questionable for Sunday vs. Pacers, now expected to return.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) November 16, 2024
But to the surprise of some Heat insiders, the Heat have ruled out Butler for Sunday’s contest. It’s worth noting that Miami will play the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday in what will be the second leg of a back-to-back, so Butler could still return to the lineup in the near future.
In somewhat of a surprise, Jimmy Butler is now listed as out for tonight’s game in Indiana. The game opens at back to back that concludes at home Monday against Philadelphia, which might have played into the thinking.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) November 17, 2024
In kind of a surprise, Jimmy Butler has been ruled out for today’s game vs. Pacers after being upgraded to questionable. Fourth straight game he has missed with a sprained ankle.
We’ll see if Butler returns tomorrow on the back end of the back-to-back vs. 76ers in Miami.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) November 17, 2024
Butler last played against the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 8 in what was a rematch of the 2023 NBA Finals. He only had time to drop two points, two assists and one rebound before he exited the game in the first quarter with his ankle injury.
All things considered, the Heat have done an admirable job of remaining competitive while missing such an important player. Excluding the Denver game, Miami owns a 2-1 record since Butler’s been sidelined, with wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves and Pacers.
The Heat’s lone loss during that span came in overtime against the Detroit Pistons earlier this week on Nov. 12.
But even when factoring in Miami’s solid play of late, the team still hasn’t gotten off to all that strong of a start to the 2024-25 regular season. The Heat are below the .500 mark at 5-6 and sit as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
They’ll look to pull to .500 on Sunday. One reason for fans of the Heat to be optimistic about Miami’s chances without Butler is how the squad has fared away from home since the start of the campaign. While Miami owns a home record of just 1-3, its away record of 4-3 is nothing to scoff at.
The Pacers are also on a two-game losing streak and haven’t won a game since they topped the New York Knicks one week ago on Nov. 10. Their most recent loss came against the Heat in an NBA Cup game a couple days ago on Nov. 15.
