Heat details Jimmy Butler injury management plan for rest of December: ‘He’s feeling great’

The Miami Heat continues to take a cautious approach with star Jimmy Butler following his recent return from a sore right knee. But the Heat’s hope is this maintenance plan won’t continue past December.

After returning from a right knee injury that forced him to miss seven games in a row from Nov. 18 to Nov. 30, the Heat has held out Butler for one of the games on its two back-to-back sets since then even as it looks to make up ground in the standings after a slow start to the season. He missed Wednesday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center on the front end of a back-to-back because of “right knee injury management” and also sat out the Heat’s Dec. 6 home loss to the Detroit Pistons on the back end of a back-to-back for the same reason.

The Heat completes its current back-to-back Thursday against the Rockets in Houston (8 p.m., Bally Sports Sun). Butler, 33, is expected to be available to play against the Rockets.

Along with missing Butler, the Heat ruled out Jamal Cain (G League), Nikola Jovic (G League), Gabe Vincent (left knee effusion) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) against the Thunder.

“Every team is dealing with that,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday morning of being cautious with players coming off injuries even as the team looks to get back on track after a shaky start to the season. “We have enough experience with it. We feel comfortable in even being able to slide different guys into that starting lineup. The most important thing is our guys are feeling better. Jimmy is feeling better. That’s by far the biggest takeaway from this and we want to make sure that he keeps feeling like that.”

Spoelstra said the Heat opted to keep Butler out of Wednesday’s game against the Thunder instead of Thursday’s matchup against the Rockets because “it just made the most sense based on his load and everything.” Butler recorded 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes in Monday’s win over the Indiana Pacers.

The Heat also plans to sit Butler for one of the games during its lone remaining back-to-back this month when it begins a five-game West Coast trip against the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 30 and the Utah Jazz on Dec. 31.

But the Heat hopes that pattern won’t continue past December. It helps that Miami doesn’t have a back-to-back on its schedule in January.

“The most important thing is our guys are feeling better and we do have to manage the schedule,” Spoelstra said. “That’s part of it. It will work itself out when we don’t have back-to-backs.”

When asked if others who are available for Wednesday’s game in Oklahoma City could miss Thursday’s matchup against the Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back, Spoelstra did not rule it out.

“Potentially. I don’t know yet,” Spoelstra said. “But potentially. We want to be smart as we handle these back-to-backs.”

Butler has missed 11 of the Heat’s first 29 games — two because of left hip tightness, seven because of right knee soreness and two because of right knee injury management. He’s averaging 21.7 points while shooting a career-best 52.4 percent from the field, to go with 6.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game this season.

When Butler has played since returning from his knee injury, Spoelstra noted that he hasn’t noticed any lingering effects.

“We want to keep him in that space,” Spoelstra added. “That’s why we’re handling the schedule right now the way we are. He’s feeling great.”

OLADIPO’S MOMENT OF REFLECTION

Well after Monday’s road win over the Pacers following a postgame workout, Heat guard Victor Oladipo went and sat on the spot on the court where he initially ruptured the quad tendon in his right knee in January 2019 as a member of the Pacers. It was a moment of reflection for Oladipo on that career-altering injury.

“Just understanding that my story and my journey is bigger than myself,” said Oladipo, who has missed significant time and was forced to undergo two surgeries on his quad tendon since that 2019 setback. “When I fell there, however many years ago it was, I didn’t necessarily know what the future held. But I’m still fighting and I’m still going today. In that, that means my journey, my purpose is not done yet. I have to to understand that.”

Monday’s game marked Oladipo’s first game in Indianapolis since the Pacers traded him away in January 2021. Oladipo missed the Heat’s first 24 games this season because of left knee tendinosis before returning last week.

RUTH HUNTER HONORED

Heat senior director of team development Ruth Hunter was named to the 2023 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Induction Class for her time at Notre Dame.

Hunter was a three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, and a two-time Academic All-American at Notre Dame. As a senior, she helped lead the Notre Dame women’s basketball team to the NCAA championship.

The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Induction class will be honored on April 29, 2023.