Heat’s Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo available against Timberwolves
After missing the Miami Heat’s past two games because of personal reasons, All-Star wing Jimmy Butler will be available Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Butler was listed as questionable leading up to the game. However, there was optimism over the past 24 hours about a Wednesday return after Butler worked out at AmericanAirlines Arena on Tuesday.
Heat big man Bam Adebayo will also be available for Wednesday’s game against the Timberwolves. He was listed as questionable for the contest due to a sprained right ankle. Adebayo has played in 143 consecutive regular-season games, with the last one he missed coming on April 3, 2018.
Butler’s return will surely help the Heat. Butler entered Wednesday with the second-best plus/minus on the team at plus-228 this season. Without Butler on the court, opponents have outscored Miami by 39 points.
In addition, Butler is averaging a team-high 20.6 points on 45.3 percent shooting from the field and 24.6 percent shooting on threes this season. He’s also averaging a team-high 6.2 assists.
The Heat has posted a 5-5 record in the 10 games Butler has missed this season. But Miami is 1-3 in the four games he has missed this month.
While Butler has missed 10 games this season, only four have been because of injury.
He missed the first three games of the season while on paternity leave following the birth of his daughter, the fourth game because of an illness, the fifth game because of lower back soreness, the sixth game because of right hip soreness, the seventh and eighth games because of a right shoulder strain, and the ninth and 10th games because of personal reasons.
▪ Heat rookie guard Tyler Herro (sore right ankle) and center Meyers Leonard (sprained left ankle) remain out for Wednesday’s game against the Timberwolves. It marks the ninth consecutive game both have missed. Herro and Leonard recently had their walking boots removed, but the Heat has not given a timetable for their returns.
This story was originally published February 26, 2020 at 5:12 PM.
