Heat rules out Butler, Herro, Highsmith for Tuesday’s In-Season Tournament game vs. Bucks
The Miami Heat will be without star Jimmy Butler for Tuesday night’s meaningful In-Season Tournament game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center.
It marks the second straight game that Butler has missed after spraining his right ankle during Friday’s road loss to the New York Knicks. Including Tuesday’s contest, Butler has sat out four of the Heat’s first 18 games this season.
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The belief remains that this is a short-term issue for Butler and he could return for the Heat’s next game, which is Thursday against the Indiana Pacers at Kaseya Center.
The Heat will also be without Tyler Herro (right ankle sprain), Haywood Highsmith (lower back contusion), Dru Smith (season-ending ACL injury) and R.J. Hampton (right knee sprain) against the Bucks.
With Butler, Herro and Highsmith out, the Heat will be missing three starters against the Bucks.
The Bucks ruled out Marques Bolden, Jae Crowder, TyTy Washington Jr. and Lindell Wigginton for Tuesday’s game in Miami.
With the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament’s four-game group stage coming to an end on Tuesday, the Heat needs to find a way to defeat the Bucks without Butler, Herro and others just to have a realistic chance of advancing to the knockout quarterfinal round.
A loss to the Bucks on Tuesday wouldn’t technically eliminate the Heat from the In-Season Tournament, but there’s only one unlikely scenario that would get Miami to the quarterfinals if it does not defeat Milwaukee.
