The Miami Heat’s latest injury report, released just over a day before their Tuesday game against the Detroit Pistons, lists four players: Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Josh Christopher, and Keshad Johnson.
Starting with the setbacks, Butler will miss his second consecutive game after sitting out Sunday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a sprained right ankle.
Additionally, Johnson and Christopher, both on two-way contracts, will be unavailable for the Pistons game as they’re set to play with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s G League affiliate, who face the Iowa Wolves on Tuesday.
On a positive note, Herro, despite a lower back contusion, will be cleared to play for the Heat.
When Miami defeated the Timberwolves, it demonstrated a recipe for winning games without Butler in the lineup. Thanks to some lockdown defense, the Heat defeated Minnesota by a single point.
The Timberwolves only managed 94 points as a team and shot less than 40 percent from the field, despite having one of the NBA’s top scorers in Anthony Edwards. During the game, Miami also had nine blocks and fourteen thefts.
The Heat limited the opposition to fewer than 100 points on Sunday for the third time since the season began. Miami held the Washington Wizards to 98 points on November 2 and the Pistons to 98 points on October 28.
If Miami can maintain its defensive performance against a highly regarded Timberwolves team into the game, it appears likely that the Heat will be able to hold the Pistons to double digits in points on Tuesday for the second time this season.
It’s also noteworthy that the Pistons only managed 99 points against the Houston Rockets in their most recent game.
Erik Spoelstra makes a perplexing error against the Pistons in overtime.
Most people agree that Erik Spoelstra was one of the greatest NBA coaches ever. On Tuesday, he didn’t look the part.
When the Miami Heat lost to the Detroit Pistons in overtime at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, the head coach made an unusual mistake. With 1.8 seconds remaining on the overtime clock, the Heat were ahead 121-119.
The Pistons came out of their timeout with a fantastic play. Center Jalen Duran quickly moved toward the basket for a game-tying alley-oop slam as Cade Cunningham inbound from the sideline.
A timeout was promptly called by a displeased Spoelstra. However, the Heat were out of timeouts, thus the Pistons were given a technical free throw.
Following the game-winning foul shot by Malik Beasley, Spoelstra substituted Kevin Love, hoping he would throw a full-court pass. However, Detroit had the ball because the seasoned coach was unaware that his timeout error also contributed to a turnover.
The Heat’s worst-case scenario would have probably been a second overtime if Spoelstra hadn’t called a timeout. The Pistons, on the other hand, won 123-121. Spoelstra accepted full responsibility for the error after the game.
At the conclusion, Spoelstra admitted to reporters, “I made a serious mental error.” I’m responsible for that. It makes me feel awful. That is not an excuse. I’ve been here 17 years.
Miami suffered its fourth defeat in its previous five games on Tuesday.
