Inside The Heat

Heat-Blazers Injury Report: Four More Days Until Jimmy Butler Returns

Shandel Richardson|
Jan 7, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra gestures during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images
Jan 7, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra gestures during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images | John Hefti-Imagn Images

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Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are relatively at full strength for tonight's game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

INJURY REPORT

HEAT

Jimmy Butler: Out - Suspension

Dru Smith: Out - Achilles

Josh Richardson: Questionable - Heel

Isaiah Stevens: Questionable - G League

BLAZERS

Deandre Ayton: Questionable - Calf

Jerami Grant: Out - Face contusion

Matisse Thybulle: Out - Ankle

Here's the game preview:

Game time: 10 p.m., Moda Center, Portland


TV: FanDuel Sports Network

Betting line: Heat -3.5

VITALS: The Heat and Trail Blazers meet for the first of two regular season matchups. Last season, Miami swept the series, 2-0, and has won a franchise-best four consecutive games in Portland, including six of the last seven overall. The Heat are 29-42 all-time versus the Blazers during the regular season, including 13-22 in home games and 16-20 in road games.

QUOTABLE

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on Bam Adebayo's inconsistent shooting: “I’m not stressed about that, He’s been such a rock for our team while we’ve been doing a bunch of different things. He [has] the same approach every day. Not many players can do that if you’re missing shots. He checks all the other boxes, coaching guys, and being there when we really needed him. You have great confidence you can get stops when you know he’s back there. We have quite a few coverages and he does them all at an elite level.”

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here