Heat game delayed. And what Butler was doing to begin his suspension while team traveled
Icy conditions in New Orleans have forced an hour delay for the tip-off time of the Heat’s game at the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.
The Bucks’ Wednesday game in New Orleans was postponed due to a rare snowstorm in Louisiana and they were unable to return to Milwaukee until late Thursday afternoon. That led to the NBA changing tip-off for Thursday’s Heat-Bucks game from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
The start of the Heat game will be televised exclusively on TNT, but it’s undetermined if it will air in its entirety on TNT, which has the option to switch to the first half of the Celtics-Lakers game, which will overlap with the second half of Heat-Bucks.
That decision will be made later in the evening. Either way, between 10 and 11 p.m., one game will air on TNT and the other on truTV.
Butler goes to event
While the Heat traveled to Milwaukee to begin a two-game road trip on Wednesday night, Jimmy Butler made the most of his newest team suspension and attended a social event, mixing with celebrities, as the standoff between the team and the six-time All Star enters a second month.
Hours after the team left for Wisconsin and Butler was suspended for two games after being late for the flight, the Heat forward showed up unexpectedly at the Reserve Cup draft and dinner hosted by Moncayo Ocean Club at a private residence in Miami. The Reserve Cup is a competition for the world’s best padel players, and Butler is serving as the honorary chairman for a third time.
According to an involved public relations firm, “Butler seemed to be in a good mood at the event, talking sports and hanging with the best padel players in the world. He loves the sport and the competitive fire that these athletes have.
“Team Captain and comedian Andrew Schulz couldn’t help but make a joke to the entire room prior to the team draft starting... When the draft started, Schulz grabbed the mic and joked about Butler “if anyone asks he was NOT here, he was at the Heat facility practicing....that was someone else you saw” causing the room to break out in laughter.”
NFL receiver Jerry Juedy and former NFL receiver Brandon Marshall were among other attendees at the event.
Butler was suspended for what the Heat calls a “continued pattern of disregard of team rules, insubordinate conduct and conduct detrimental to the team, including missing today’s team flight to Milwaukee.”
The Heat continues efforts to trade him before the NBA’s Feb. 6 trade deadline. Discussions with other teams are ongoing.
A Heat staffer remains in South Florida to work with Butler if he chooses to practice at Kaseya Center during his two-game suspension, which ends after Saturday’s game in Brooklyn. Miami’s next game after that is Monday at home against Orlando.
Here are our two comprehensive Thursday stories on Butler: here and here.
This story was originally published January 23, 2025 at 1:37 PM.