(Photo via Getty Images)
In what could be one of the biggest storyline games of the season, the Miami Heat will welcome Jimmy Butler’s return to South Beach to host his Golden State Warriors. Miami is coming into the matchup off a bounce back win on Monday and an 8-6 record overall.
The Warriors will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back Florida set, as they just lost to the Orlando Magic— dropping themselves to a 9-7 record overall. Each of the Heat and Warriors have gone 5-5 over their last 10 games. In regard to Golden State’s back-to-back, Butler told the media “we’ll see” after Tuesday’s loss in Orlando if he will be good to play for his Miami return. Steph Curry’s status is also expected to be in question, as the Warriors have not yet released their official injury report.
In Butler’s first return to Miami after last season’s trade, the Heat handed the Warriors a loss. Butler had also struggled with just 11 points on the night.
Coach Erik Spoelstra downplayed the storyline of the matchup against the Heat’s former superstar.
In a much more important bit of news, Bam Adebayo says he is “optimistic” he will be able to return to the Heat lineup for this game. He had missed Miami’s previous six games with a toe sprain, but has officially been upgraded to Questionable. The team has undoubtedly missed Adebayo’s presence and two-way impact on the court.
If the All-Star big man is set to come back from the injury, it will be interesting to see if Spoelstra sticks with Pelle Larsson or the recently emerging Kel’el Ware to round out the starting lineup.
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- Bam Adebayo (toe) — QUESTIONABLE
- Tyler Herro (ankle) — OUT
- Terry Rozier (not with team) — OUT
- Myron Gardner (g-league) — OUT
- Jahmir Young (g-league) — OUT
- Kasparas Jakucionis (g-league) — OUT
Golden State Warriors:
- NOT YET SUBMITTED.
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Miami Heat:
- Davion Mitchell, G
- Norman Powell, G
- Andrew Wiggins, F
- Bam Adebayo, F/C
- Kel’el Ware, C
Golden State Warriors:
- Stephen Curry, G
- Moses Moody, G
- Will Richard, F
- Jimmy Butler, F
- Draymond Green, C
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 7:30 PM EST
- TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun (Eric Reid & John Crotty)
- Radio: AM 560 Sports WQAM & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson)
- Spanish Radio: WAQI 710 AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda)
Come back to Hot Hot Hoops at game time to join our GameThread and chat about the game live with other Heat fans!
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Hey, maybe we will see Jimmy running… with joy. Ok, just running would be enough, not much of seeing that in his last two seasons in Miami.
with the quitter coming back to the place he quit on why adam sched a b2b which now gives him an out.b2bs are getting your players injured adam.sacrifice some $$$ get rid of b2bs.your cheating your fans seeing best players night after night
Jimmy said he’s going to see how he feels. It sounds like he might pull a Lebron and coincidentally rest when at Miami.
Good news is it sounds like Bam could be back tonight. That is perfect timing. 🙂
who starts next to bam mip or ware
Winners never quit and quitters never win. Heat team is much better and more exciting than a year ago. There’s now hope in Mudville.
thats what happens when u add 2 all stars to a mediocre team u become a good team add a ss become great team
I like how you’re leaning in to that. You have been so wrong on so many players that now I might take it up a notch and MIP will be an AS 😛
Jaquez,Wiggins,Mitchell,Kyle GuyKyle Guy was one of the main ones I was thinking of as the JJJ was an all year thing last year, so it was obvious. But the Guy one was special.