It will be the second missed game for Butler after he was absent Wednesday vs. the Magic as he deals with a calf injury.

As the Miami Heat continue to deal with more injury problems as the season goes on, star Jimmy Butler will miss his second straight game as he is out for Friday’s contest against the Atlanta Hawks. According to the team’s X (formerly known as Twitter) page, Butler is still dealing with a calf injury that made him miss Wednesday’s matchup where the Heat beat the Orlando Magic.

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There were some positive signs for Miami injury-wise as Bam Adebayo and especially Tyler Herro came back from lengthy absences, only for Butler to now be in their shoes. The “big three” in Miami have only played in seven games this season out of the 28 played.

The injury could be why Butler only scored 15 points in the loss to the Timberwolves where he looked aggressive in the beginning, but lost that explosiveness later in the game. In the contest before, he hit a buzzer-beater shot that gave the win to Miami against the Chicago Bulls last Saturday, December 16.

Heat schedule ahead, hopefully with Butler
Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler around injury logos in front of the Kaseya Center.

Butler has been averaging 21.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game as the 34-year old has always treated as the leading drive to the team. In terms of the other injuries, Heat’s Kevin Love who also missed Wednesday’s game against the Magic with a stomach illness, is reportedly set to return to the lineup as he is not on the injury report according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

The Heat used their 16th different starting lineup in the victory facing the Magic where rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. took the place of Butler and scored 10 points. However it was the two returning stars in Herro and Adebayo who led Miami to victory with 28 and 18 points respectively.

Butler’s next opportunity to return is a huge one as after the Heat face the Hawks Friday, their next game will be against the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day. Miami is currently 16-12 on the season which puts them at seventh in the Eastern Conference.

Before the start of the New Year, they have two games on the road against the Golden State Warriors and the Utah Jazz. After that, Butler hopefully is with the team as they play the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 1.