Heat returns to old mantra with Butler hurt again: ‘Nobody cares ... still got to win’
It’s a two-word phrase P.J. Tucker kept repeating Monday in San Francisco, but it really could just sum up the teams — and league’s — plight from most of the last month or so.
“Nobody cares,” the post player said over and over Monday after the Heat’s 115-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
It’s a favorite mantra of Jimmy Butler’s, so it was fitting to hear his teammates echo it after he injured his right ankle in the third quarter at Oracle Arena, ultimately dooming Miami’s hopes at a road comeback against the best team in the NBA.
Still, it was hard not to sympathize with the Heat (23-15) after this one. Butler, Tucker said, is Miami’s “best player,” and the star forward has helped keep the Heat afloat while injuries and COVID-19 have sapped it of most of its depth. On Monday, he scored 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting and had Miami within six points of the Warriors when he exited the game for good with 3:14 left in the third.
It was finally starting to feel like the Heat was taking its old shape until, suddenly, it lost it again.
Tucker flew into California on Monday, arriving only a few hours before tip-off at Golden State after he cleared COVID protocols. While Tucker came off the bench, his return meant Miami had three of its five usual starters available for the first time in two and a half weeks. With wing Duncan Robinson eligible to return from the virus list as soon as Tuesday and star post player Bam Adebayo finally traveling with the team after thumb surgery, the Heat was getting close to returning to full strength.
Butler’s injury, at least for the moment, derails those plans, although there’s optimism the injury will just be a minor, day-to-day situation. He won’t, however, play Wednesday when Miami continues its seven-game road trip against the Portland Trail Blazers (14-22) at 10 p.m. at the Moda Center in Portland.
“We’ll have to evaluate him tomorrow,” coach Erik Spoelstra said Monday.
In the meantime, Miami has proved it can win without the five-time All-Star — or pretty much anyone — even Butler’s his injury might have been the difference Monday. The Heat has won 9 of 13, even with multiple starters sidelined for every one of those games.
Point guard Kyle Lowry has been the driving force and the closest thing to a constant, averaging 15.9 points per game and 9.6 assists, while playing in all but two games. The emergence of a bevvy of unlikely role players, however, has been nearly as important.
Caleb Martin, who’s on a two-way contract, was Miami’s second leading scorer Monday and the closest facsimile it has for Butler. If Butler misses more time, the wing will handle his spot at small forward.
Kyle Guy, who signed a 10-day contract with the Heat on Thursday, scored 14 points Monday and went 4 of 8 from three-point range. The point guard has played at least 24 minutes in every game since joining Miami.
Omer Yurtseven, an undrafted free agent, grabbed 17 rebounds Monday after getting stitches over his left eye on the first quarter. The center has grabbed double-digit rebounds in nine straight games for a Heat rookie record.
Butler has actually only played in five of Miami’s last 13 games and the Heat won 7 of 9 without him. Playing without a star won’t be anything new for Miami.
“It’s our job. We don’t ever want a guy like Jimmy to keep hurting its ankle, but it’s one of them things where he’s played through this,” Lowry said Monday. “Now we hopefully should be getting guys back. We’ve fended fairly well throughout the season without Bam a lot, without Jimmy a lot and we’ve just got to continue to get better.”
Whether Butler is available Tuesday, the Heat expects more of its players to get out of virus protocols this week.
Wing Max Strus cleared protocols Monday and is expected to be available to play Wednesday in Oregon. Point guard Gabe Vincent, post player Udonis Haslem, two-way contract guard Marcus Garrett and Robinson — the other players still dealing with the coronavirus — have all been in isolation long enough, too, and can return as soon as they’re asymptomatic and meet testing standards.
Miami, of course, is not alone in dealing with stars and starters being out in the last month, it’s just the Heat could finally see the light at the end of uncertain period. Now the uncertainty is back and Miami will have to keep doing what it has done so well this season.
“Next man up,” Tucker said. “We’ve still got to win. We still want to win. We’ve still got to do everything we’ve got to do to win. That’s how the game goes. Injuries happen. We get out with COVID. So what? Next man up, ready to play.
“It’s part of the game, it’s part of life right now. It’s how it is, it’s how it goes. We adapt and we play.”
Spoelstra: Coach of the Month
After leading the Heat to 10 wins in 15 games last month, Spoelstra was Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for the final month of 2021.
Miami players missed 68 total games due to injuries and 18 due to COVID, and the Heat still kept pace in the top four of the East. Butler missed all but four games last month and Adebayo didn’t play at all.
This is the ninth time Spoelstra has been honored as Coach of the Month and the first time since 2018.
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 2:38 PM.
