The Miami Heat return from the NBA All-Star break on Friday night with a road game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Jimmy Butler, who recently was granted a leave of absence to deal with the death of a family member, has returned to practice ahead of Friday’s game, per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel.
‘Also Jimmy Butler is back from his leave, practiced and is back with the team.’
Butler hasn’t played since February 7, but he is expected back for Friday’s game. Also on the injury report are a few other Heat players, per Winderman:
‘Tyler Herro questionable for Heat with foot discomfort. Richardson (shoulder), Rozier (knee) and Smith (knee) are out but will travel. Robinson will play but with shoulder sleeve.’
Without Butler in the lineup, the Heat managed to go 2-1 with the loss coming to the Boston Celtics. They defeated the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers right before the All-Star break as Nikola Jovic had a huge 24-point showing against the Bucks.
Butler is the leading scorer for the Heat this season, averaging 21.4 PPG with 5.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists on the year and has six 20-plus pint outings in the last seven games entering Friday night.
The Heat are tied with the Orlando Magic for 7th place in the Eastern Conference and just half a game behind the Indiana Pacers. With the East race tightening up and a lot of movement made at the NBA trade deadline, they need a big push to close out the year to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
