Jimmy Butler sustained a left calf strain during Monday’s game against Minnesota and will miss Wednesday’s game in Orlando (7 p.m., Bally Sports Sun). Whether he will miss much or any time beyond that remains to be seen.
Additionally, the Heat is unsure whether Kevin Love will be available to play against the Magic; he’s dealing with a stomach illness.
Kyle Lowry will be available on Wednesday after missing a game with soreness.
In Monday’s loss to Minnesota, Butler, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo played together for the first time since Herro sustained an ankle injury on Nov. 8 in Memphis.
The Heat’s Big Three has played just seven of the Heat’s first 27 games together.
Adebayo has missed 10 games, over three separate occasions, due to a hip injury before returning Monday. Herro missed 18 games with the ankle injury before returning Monday.
“Jimmy has been trying to will this team for a long time since me and Tyler have been out,” Adebayo said Tuesday of Butler’s calf injury. “He needed that [break]. Nobody wants to go down with an injury, but you don’t want to let it linger. I’m glad he’s taking care of it now.”
Butler has appeared in 23 of the Heat’s first 27 games this season. His scoring is down a bit from last season (22.9 to 21.5) and his shooting percentage has dropped from 53.9 percent to 46.2, his lowest since 2019-2020.
His rebounds are down from 5.9 to 5.2 and assists from 5.3 to 4.6.
Butler typically misses time each season due to injury. He has played in 52, 57 and 64 games the past three seasons.
Erik Spoelstra said his concern isn’t about continuity but execution.
“We have enough continuity,” he said. “It’s about getting a whole lot more consistent with our identity, execution, details of what we’re doing in the fourth quarter.” The Heat has lost six games that it led entering the fourth quarter.
Spoelstra said the return of Adebayo (who had 22 points and 6 rebounds on Monday) and Herro (who had 25 points) “was about as seamless as it can go. We need them to go where we need to go.”
THIS AND THAT
Monday marked one of the rare times recently when rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. didn’t play well over half — or all — of the fourth quarter. He played seven fourth quarter minutes; Spoelstra opted for Butler, Adebayo, Herro, Josh Richardson and Duncan Robinson during one late stretch Monday.
Jaquez – who has been remarkably consistent – leads the league in fourth quarter minutes; Monday wasn’t one of his best games of the season.
“We’re trying to win,” Spoelstra said of fourth quarter lineup decisions. “Whoever gives us the best chance.”
▪ In a league filled with speedy wing players who can get to the basket, Spoelstra said the Heat’s ability to contain players off the dribble “has to be better. We have shown we can. The whole league is dealing with it. Teams that are inconsistent with that right now are paying the price.
“We are in that category right now of trying to find a consistency there. We definitely have the ability to do it. That’s been a factor in some of the games we’ve lost.”
