Jimmy Butler's Status For Heat-Grizzlies Game
On Thursday evening, Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat won their first preseason game of the year when they blew out the Brooklyn Nets by a score of 109-80 at Barclays Center in New York.
Butler finished his night with two points, four rebounds and one assist in 17 minutes of playing time during the win.
On Friday night, the Heat are in Tennessee to play the Memphis Grizzlies, and Butler (as well as Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo) has been ruled out.
Via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald: "Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler will be held out tomorrow after playing tonight, per Spoelstra."
The preseason does not matter, so this is probably the smart move for the Heat to give their big-three a breather on the second night of a back-to-back.
Last season, they had a long year as they made it all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
They lost Game 7 on their home floor against Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics.
After the Grizzlies, they will play two more preseason games against the New Orleans Pelicans and Houston Rockets.
They will play their first game of the 2022-23 NBA regular season on Oct. 19 when they host DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls in Florida.
More than likely, the Heat will be a contender to win the Eastern Conference.
They have made the NBA Playoffs in each of the last three seasons and made the NBA Finals in 2020.
