With just over 24 hours separating the Miami Heat from their matchup against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, Miami has four players — Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Josh Christopher and Keshad Johnson — listed on its latest injury report.
Starting with the bad news, Butler will miss his second consecutive game after he didn’t play in the Heat’s contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday either. He has been ruled out due to a right ankle sprain.
Furthermore, Johnson and Christopher — both of whom are on two-way contracts — also won’t play against the Pistons due to commitments with the team’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. The Skyforce will take on the Iowa Wolves on Tuesday.
Finally, on the bright side, Herro (lower back contusion) will be available to play for the Heat.
Miami showed off a formula on how to win games sans Butler in the lineup when it beat the Timberwolves. The Heat won the game by one point, and they beat Minnesota thanks to some lockdown defense.
The Timberwolves — who have one of the NBA’s better scorers in Anthony Edwards — mustered just 94 points as a team and shot under 40 percent from the field. Miami also racked up 14 steals and nine blocks in the contest.
Bam Adebayo and rookie big man Kel’el Ware finished tied for a team-high in blocks with three apiece, while Haywood Highsmith led the Heat in steals with five in over 33 minutes of playing time.
Sunday marked the third time that the Heat have held the opposition to under 100 points since the start of the season. Miami limited the Pistons to 98 points back on Oct. 28 and Washington Wizards to the same amount on Nov. 2.
Only time will tell if the Heat can limit the Pistons to double digits in points for the second time this season on Tuesday, but it seems to be a realistic possibility at this time, especially if Miami can carry over its defensive performance against a vaunted Timberwolves team into the matchup.
It’s also of note that the Pistons mustered just 99 points in their most recent contest against the Houston Rockets.