The Miami Heat play the New Orleans Pelicans on the road on Friday night as they make their NBA All-Star comeback. Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel reports that Jimmy Butler, who was recently given a leave of absence to deal with a family member’s loss, has returned to practice in advance of Friday’s game.
Also Jimmy Butler is back from his leave, practiced and is back with the team.’
Jimmy Butler has returned from his absence, practiced, and rejoined the team.
Btler is anticipated to return for the game onFriday after not playing since February 7. Several more Heat players are also listed as injured, according to Winderman:
Tyler Herro is dubious about the heat and soreness in his feet. Smith (knee), Rozier (knee), and Richardson (shoulder) are not well but will travel. Robinson will participate, but he’ll wear a sleeve.
The Heat went 2-1 without Butler in the starting lineup, losing to the Boston Celtics. Just before the All-Star break, they triumphed over the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, with Nikola Jovic leading the way with 24 points against the Bucks.
Butler is the leading scorer for the Heat this season, averaging 21.4 PPG with 5.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists on the year and has six 20-plus pint outings in the last seven games entering Friday night.
The Heat are only half a game behind the Indiana Pacers in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, where they are tied with the Orlando Magic. They must make a strong effort to finish the year in order to avoid the Play-In Tournament, as the East race is becoming more competitive and there was a lot of activity around the NBA trade deadline.
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