Miami Heat star wing Jimmy Butler along with Josh Richardson, Kevin Love, Caleb Martin and Haywood Highsmith have all been ruled out for Miami’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
Jimmy Butler, Kevin Love, Josh Richardson, Haywood Highsmith and Caleb Martin are all OUT for the #Heat tonight against Wolves.
— Heat Nation (@HeatNationCom) October 28, 2023
The Heat allegedly spoke with the NBA about their plan to rest Butler to ensure that they weren’t violating the league’s new policy on player participation.
The Heat consulted with the league on their plan for Jimmy Butler on this back-to-back to make sure they’re in compliance with the new Player Participation Policy. One of the factors involved was that Butler played in last night’s nationally televised game. https://t.co/mehtiIYYO0
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) October 28, 2023
Timberwolves fans had a fun time making fun of Butler after the news broke.
Jimmy Butler is OUT tonight vs the Wolves. General Soreness strikes again.
— The Daily Wolves (@TheDailyWolves) October 28, 2023
Jimmy Butler is the biggest fake tough guy in basketball https://t.co/dTwcHygFRL
— Timberwolves Talk (@LetsTalk_Wolves) October 28, 2023
I really hope we still chant something at Jimmy Butler tonight
He’s such a loser 😂
— Timberwolves Talk (@LetsTalk_Wolves) October 28, 2023
Jimmy’s been ducking Ant since this moment pic.twitter.com/bkX2GNsSvb
— Ev (@EvInFour) October 28, 2023
Jimmy will almost certainly come out one day and say he stopped playing against us because he doesn’t think we’re a real franchise. Just like he pretends the 2017 season didn’t happen. I almost respect the commitment to the act. https://t.co/pvpqC8FZfU
— Alec Kinsky (@AlecKinsky) October 28, 2023
He’s scared of us https://t.co/smwu789V18
— No Context KOT4Q (@NoContextKenny) October 28, 2023
Ant got grown men scared 🫣 https://t.co/s2JmMvkH4X
— W💫💫 (@human_glacier) October 28, 2023
POV: Jimmy when he sees the Timberwolves https://t.co/8ufOPGG3Dt pic.twitter.com/uFgRcK1wrX
— stonecold (@hoopsenjoyer12) October 28, 2023
Butler had a forgettable game against Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics on Friday. He ended up with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal in 34 minutes of playing time. Plus, he converted three of his 11 field-goal attempts and was blocked by Celtics guard Derrick White three times, including twice on dunk attempts.
The Heat lost to the Celtics 119-111. White starred on both ends of the floor for Boston, seeing as how he scored 28 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists on top of his three blocks.
Butler didn’t play much better in Miami’s regular-season opener against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 25. He scored 19 points but knocked down just six of his 18 field-goal attempts.
The 34-year-old wing averaged 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 53.9 percent from the field in 64 appearances with the Heat during the 2022-23 regular season, his fourth season with the franchise.
Love is in his 15th season in the NBA and second with the Heat. He has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Timberwolves and Heat since being drafted with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.
The big man signed with the Heat in the middle of the 2022-23 season after Cleveland bought him out. He averaged 7.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 21 games played with Miami during the regular season.
The Heat are in for a tough game against the Timberwolves, considering Butler, Richardson, Highsmith, Love and Martin will all not play for the team. Couple that with the fact that the Heat will be playing on the road, and Miami fans shouldn’t be too surprised if the team loses its second game in a row on Saturday.
