Latest update on status of Butler, Rozier, Jaquez, Embiid and others for tonight’s Heat-76ers game
While the Miami Heat will get Jimmy Butler back for Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Kaseya Center, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Terry Rozier are now sidelined.
Butler has been upgraded to available for Monday’s matchup against the 76ers (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network — Sun) after missing the last four games with a sprained right ankle.
Butler was upgraded to questionable for Sunday’s 119-110 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse before eventually being ruled out for that game. Giving Butler another day to rest his ankle was viewed as the prudent approach, as opposed to having him play both ends of this back-to-back set.
But Jaquez has been ruled out for Monday’s game because of a sprained right ankle that he sustained during Sunday’s loss to the Pacers in Indianapolis. Rozier will also miss his first game of the season on Monday because of right foot discomfort.
The 76ers are dealing with their own injury issues, as they will be without star guard Tyrese Maxey for the sixth straight game because of a strained right hamstring. But the good news for Philadelphia is that star star center Joel Embiid will play against the Heat on Monday despite being downgraded to doubtful for the contest because of an illness earlier in the day.
As for the Heat’s latest injuries, Jaquez exited Sunday’s game with 29.2 seconds left in the third quarter after turning his right ankle and did not return. X-rays on Jaquez’s ankle returned negative and an MRI was not required.
Jaquez sprained his ankle after missing a six-foot jumper. He backpedaled following the shot attempt before stepping on Pacers guard T. J. McConnell’s foot and turning his ankle.
“I shot the shot, was ready to get back on defense and then I took a little jump and backpedaled back and twisted my ankle,” Jaquez said after Sunday’s defeat. “It didn’t feel great. It’s one of those things, man, you just get unlucky sometimes. But I’ve been in this situation before. Sprains are nothing new to me. Hopefully rehab it and then get back as soon as possible.”
Jaquez, who will miss his fourth game this season after sitting out three games earlier in the schedule because of a stomach illness, has averaged 8.9 points, six rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game in a bench role in his nine appearances this season.
Rozier was able to finish Sunday’s game against the Pacers, logging 27 minutes in the loss. But after playing through the discomfort in his right foot for a few games, Rozier informed the team about the issue after Sunday’s defeat and was held out of Monday’s contest.
Rozier started the Heat’s first 12 games of the season before being ruled out for Monday’s contest, averaging 12.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 38 percent from the field and 33.3 percent on threes this season.
“It flared up last night,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said prior to Monday’s game against the 76ers when asked about Rozier’s foot injury. “He’s been dealing with it for some time. But after the game and on the flight, it didn’t really clear up this morning. But this should be a good week for him to be able to get treatment, get that right and keep moving forward. Hopefully it’s not a long-term thing.”
As Spoelstra alluded to, the good news for Jaquez and Rozier is the Heat has five full days off after Monday’s matchup against the 76ers before its next game Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks at Kaseya Center.
Along with missing Jaquez and Rozier, the Heat remains without Josh Christopher and Keshad Johnson against the 76ers. Christopher and Johnson are still in the G League as part of their two-way contracts.
The 76ers will be without Maxey, Justin Edwards (G League) and Lester Quinones (G League) against the Heat.
This story was originally published November 18, 2024 at 1:45 PM.
