Heat’s Butler, Lowry, Martin trend toward return. And Spoelstra makes Larranaga’s HOF case
Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin and Kyle Lowry were all back on the practice court for the Miami Heat on Thursday at FTX Arena, taking a positive step in their return after all three starters sat out the Heat’s 113-103 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday in Miami.
Butler was out with a gastrointestinal illness, while Lowry missed his third straight game with left knee soreness and Martin missed his second straight with a sprained left ankle.
But all three could return for the Heat (16-16) to play in Friday’s home game against the Indiana Pacers.
Butler (right knee injury management) is listed as probable, Martin is listed as questionable and Lowry is not on the injury report for Friday’s contest.
If all three players are able to play against the Pacers, the Heat would be able to use its normal starting lineup of Lowry, Tyler Herro, Butler, Martin and Bam Adebayo for the first time since a Dec. 12 road win over the Pacers.
Also on the Heat’s injury report for Friday’s game: Dewayne Dedmon (left foot plantar fasciitis) is probable, and Udonis Haslem (right Achilles tendinosis) and Gabe Vincent (left knee effusion) are questionable. Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) is the only Heat player who has been definitively ruled out.
Vincent was upgraded to questionable after missing the last eight games.
Before Butler, Martin and Lowry sat out earlier this week, Miami put together one of its best stretches of the season, winning four straight on the road to climb past .500 for the first time this year. The Heat missed a chance to build on it when it returned home with more than half the starting lineup out, but coach Erik Spoelstra was encouraged by the progress his team made, and will hopefully continue to make, with better health.
“As we get guys back, I think we’re going to have a real good balance of paint pressure and threes, and I think that synergy between the two is already happening,” Spoelstra said. “It hasn’t necessarily affected the result, but I feel much better about this process the last two or three weeks than I did six weeks ago.”
Spoelstra: Larranaga ‘deserving’ of Hall
Spoelstra was thrilled Thursday when informed Jim Larranaga is a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and then advocated for the Miami Hurricanes coach’s worthiness as a candidate.
“That’s incredible,” Spoelstra said. “That’s so awesome and so deserving.”
Larranaga, who led the George Mason Patriots on an improbable run to the Final Four in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, has been the No. 22 Hurricanes’ coach since 2011 and now owns the school’s all-time wins record. He also led the Hurricanes to the Elite Eight last season, is ninth among active coaches in career wins and is one of only four coaches to win at least 150 games at three or more schools.
In his time in Coral Gables, Larranaga has formed a relationship with Spoelstra, who is an admirer of the program the 73-year-old has built.
“He’s won with multiple programs,” Spoelstra said. “I just love the way he builds a program and that’s at all levels. They play a fun style of basketball, they bring in high-quality student-athletes and he also generates like an interest in the program, but I think that’s because of his personality, and his enthusiasm and his passion. If you spend any time with him, you’re drawn to him. He’s super approachable and really a fun guy to be around, but his basketball acumen is Hall of Fame worthy. He’s top of the food chain at what he does.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 2:28 PM.