Miami Heat will enter long trip short-handed. And more feats from Jimmy Butler
The Heat will begin a seven-game road trip without two key pieces of its backcourt.
Guard Goran Dragic, who has missed the past two games with a sprained left ankle, did not travel with the team to Houston on Wednesday and remains out indefinitely. He could potentially join the Heat at some point during this 13-day road trip.
Guard Avery Bradley (calf) also did not travel and is expected to miss at least another three weeks. Forward Chris Silva (hip flexor strain) didn’t travel and is out indefinitely. And center Meyers Leonard is out for the season after shoulder surgery.
But forward Moe Harkless could return on Thursday after missing the past nine games with a thigh contusion. He’s listed as questionable.
After the TNT-televised Houston game on Thursday, the Heat’s road trip includes games at Utah on Saturday, at the Clippers on Monday, at Golden State on Wednesday, at Sacramento on Feb. 18, at the Lakers on Feb. 20 and at Oklahoma City on Feb. 22.
ESPN will televise the Golden State game and ABC will carry the Lakers game -- Miami’s only appearance on ABC’s Saturday night package this season
The Heat enters its longest road trip in 12 years on a three-game winning streak but at 10-14 overall. Miami stands 10th in the East but just 2.5 games behind No. 4 Boston.
HERRO ON BENCH
Tyler Herro said there has been nothing at all difficult about returning to a bench role after starting his first 14 appearances this season.
In three games off the bench, Herro is averaging 16 points while shooting 19 for 43 from the field (44.1 percent) and 8 for 18 on three-pointers (44.4 percent). The Heat has outscored teams by nine points when he was on the floor in those three games, all wins.
He’s averaging 32.6 minutes per game in his three games off the bench, barely below his 33.8-minute overall average.
“I played the whole year off the bench,” he said of his 2019-20 rookie season before starting five playoff games. “Doing whatever works for the team [is most important]. Everyone hates losing. Moving to the bench wasn’t hard for me. I’ll do whatever this team needs me to do to win.”
THIS AND THAT
Jimmy Butler has at least nine assists and eight rebounds in each of his past four games — something no Miami Heat player had ever done in more than two games in a row, per Stat Head. Before this, the last Heat player to produce nine assists in four consecutive games was LeBron James, who did it seven games in a row in 2010.
Butler set career marks in rebounds per game and assists per game last season and has increased both of those numbers again this season — to 6.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists.
What’s more, Butler is holding the player he’s guarding to 35.2 percent shooting, best of any NBA forward who has defended at least 100 shots.
▪ Knicks guard RJ Barrett, on what he observed defending Butler during the past two games: “He draws a lot of fouls. That’s something I can pick up from his game. He is also really smart, making all the right plays and getting his teammates involved. Really good to go against.”
▪ After slumping for a few weeks, Kelly Olynyk is back on the upswing, scoring 52 points and sinking 13 of 24 three-pointers in this ongoing three-game winning streak.
Olnynk, who shot 6 for 37 on threes during his recent slump, has boosted his scoring average to 10.2 and his three-point percentage to 34.5, which is still a career low.
But the player he’s guarding is shooting 51.2 percent. That’s 11th worst, from a defensive standpoint, among all NBA forwards.
“He can put points on the board, ... but it is not just about spacing the floor,” Erik Spoelstra said of continuing to start Olynyk. “He allows us to play with a bigger front line with himself and Bam.”
▪ Wednesday’s win against the Knicks was the 50th time in franchise history that Miami made more free throws (32) than field goals (26).
▪ Duncan Robinson — who shot a remarkable 44.6 percent on three-pointers last season — has seen his three-point percentage dip slightly below 40 percent, at 39.4.
▪ TNT, which dropped its previous two Heat games, assigned Marv Albert and Chris Webber to Thursday’s game against Houston, which the network opted to keep on its schedule instead of dumping it and airing Boston-Toronto instead. TNT is having its announcers call games from their home or a studio this season.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 4:04 PM.
