The Miami Heat will resume their road trip and visit the State Farm Arena to face the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. The Heat have won three straight games after snapping their four-game losing streak. They are now 4-4 ahead of this matchup with the 5-3 Hawks.
Many stars, including Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama and Karl-Anthony Towns, picked the Heat to win their group in the In-Season Tournament. However, they haven't looked like the team that won the Eastern Conference last year.
The Miami Heat's long list of injuries is one of the reasons for their shaky start to the season. They have consistently listed at least five or more players on the injury report. The team also traded away key players like Max Strus and Gabe Vincent, who were incredible for the team last year.
Tyler Herro is ruled out for the game against Atlanta due to a Grade 2 sprain in his right ankle. He sprained his ankle in the first quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies and did not return. Herro is expected to be sidelined for a few weeks.
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Jimmy Butler is probable to play in this game after dealing with a right knee tendinitis. He missed the game against Minnesota, but has played in every other game this season.
Additionally, the Miami Heat have listed Caleb Martin as out due to left knee tendinosis, along with RJ Hampton who is sent to the G-League. However, Dru Smith, Kevin Love and Duncan Robinson are available after missing time.
Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler calls playing against LeBron James a "privilege"
Jimmy Butler has incredible respect for his opponents but he seemingly respects LeBron James a tad more than he does others. He believes James is one of the greatest players to ever play and feels every game against him is one to remember.
Butler and the Miami Heat faced James and the LA Lakers in the 2020 NBA Finals and have had several regular-season battles since. The Lakers won the title that season, but Butler has always competed hard against James. The two teams faced off on Monday and the Heat won by a single point (108-107) in a nail-biter.
Butler was asked about James after the game, and he said:
"I respect LeBron so much. Arguably the greatest player of all time. And I really enjoy going up against him all of these years…
"I think it's a privilege to play against him, to be able to guard him, just being able to compete and learn so much at the same time, but more often than not, just compete."
Jimmy Butler added that "The King" has gotten the better of him in important matchups.
"No matter what uniform he was in. It was always a constant battle, and I will say that he's gotten the best of me whenever it counts.," said Butler.
Butler mentioned "whenever it counts," referring to the 2020 NBA Finals when the championship was on the line. Interestingly, Butler has won more games in head-to-head matchups against James, edging him out 23-21.
However, James has outplayed him in 35 of the 44 matchups. He has averaged 26.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game to Butler's 20 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
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