Heat should have Jimmy Butler back in action soon

The Heat have had a wild ride lately, losing by 47 to the Bucks two days ago, then beating them yesterday. This without Jimmy Butler, who should return to action any day now. Possibly tomorrow. Via the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

Jimmy Butler took flight with the Miami Heat on Thursday, listed as probable for Friday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, after missing the past two games due to a sprained right ankle.

Butler was injured in the Dec. 23 season-opening loss in Orlando. He played through that game against the Magic and then in the first half of the Heat’s Christmas Day home-opening victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The 2-2 Heat have been led in scoring by Bam Adebayo at 19.0 points per game, Tyler Herro at 17.0 PPG, Goran Dragic off the bench at 16.5 PPG, and new addition Avery Bradley at 14.0 PPG.

A glance at the Suns schedule for January

The Suns are a team to watch, after going 8-0 to wrap up last season and then trading for Chris Paul this offseason. Here’s the Arizona Republic with a glance at what’s on their plate in January of the new year:

The Suns play 16 games in 30 days in January as part of this NBA-shortened 72-game season with four back-to-backs.

Only seven games are on the road, but four are against playoffs teams from last season – Denver, Indiana, Houston and Dallas .

They play Toronto in Aron Baynes’ return to the valley Jan. 6 and are at Memphis on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at 3 p.m. on TNT.

The Suns are off to a nice 3-1 start. They’re enjoying some extremely balanced scoring, with seven players averaging double-digit points per game, and CP3 dishing 9.5 assists per game and committing just 1.8 turnovers per outing, which is even more impressive considering he and his new team are still getting to know each other.

After 47-point loss to Bucks, Heat bounce back with win

The Miami Heat got destroyed by the Milwaukee Bucks a few days ago, but quickly got a chance at revenge and were able to capitalize. Via the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

Back in the same building against the same opponent one night after losing by 47 to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Heat this time limited their largest deficit to 14 — instead of the 51 a night earlier — and then drew a line on the AmericanAirlines Arena hardwood.

So from Tuesday night’s 144-97 torment, the Heat made a quick turnaround to Wednesday night’s 119-108 resounding resurgence…

A night after the Bucks shot a record-setting 29 of 51 on 3-pointers, there was a more mundane 16 of 41 from Milwaukee.

Without Jimmy Butler for a second consecutive night, as the All-Star forward deals with a balky right ankle, Spoelstra shuffled his starting lineup and rotation and dealt a winning hand to leave his team with a 2-2 start to the season.

The Heat often do things differently. In this case, their leading scorer was a reserve: Goran Dragic, with 26 points. Their leading rebounder was a guard: Tyler Herro, with 15 rebounds. And their assists leader was their center: Bam Adebayo, with 10 assists.

Kings guard-forward DaQuan Jeffries injured, out at least six weeks

The Sacramento Kings will be without guard-forward DaQuan Jeffries for at least the next six weeks.

An MRI conducted this morning on Jeffries confirmed that he suffered a Grade 3 left ankle sprain during live 4-on-4 play on December 29 as part of his return to play progression.

The Kings are off to a 3-1 start this season. They’ve been led in scoring so far by De’Aaron Fox at 20.3 points per game, Buddy Hield at 16.3 PPG, and Harrison Barnes and Marvin Bagley each at 13.8 PPG.

Blazers center Zach Collins undergoes ankle surgery

Portland Trail Blazers forward/center Zach Collins underwent revision ankle surgery today to repair a left medial malleolus stress fracture, it was announced by president of basketball operations Neil Olshey.

Collins previously underwent ankle surgery on September 1.

Injuries limited Collins to just 11 games played last season. That was due to a shoulder injury.

Collins is out indefinitely and his status will be updated accordingly.

Toronto Raptors start new NBA season 0-3

The Toronto Raptors are off to an 0-3 start. Which isn’t a huge deal, because three games don’t tell a full tale of what’s to come in an entire season. But there are some issues to watch. Here’s the Toronto Sun on star forward Pascal Siakam:

Siakam has had a weird start. He’s looked far more energetic and locked-in and appears to be having more fun than he did in the bubble, but he’s also been a bit error-prone, has been mad at the officiating and has completely faded the later into games he gets. Is it fatigue? Frustration? This wasn’t the Siakam we saw to start the 2019-20 campaign. That Siakam was a Top 10 MVP candidate after the first month or so…

Siakam is -39 in the second half of the first three games, +6 in the first two quarters, has not gotten to the free throw line once in the first or fourth quarter of any game and committed five fouls in the final seven minutes of Tuesday’s loss.

He also hasn’t been the all-world defender he has been the past few seasons (torched by Brandon Ingram, Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons).

Through three games, Kyle Lowry is averaging 19.3 points and 9.7 assists. Siakam is second in scoring at 18.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 4.7 APG, but he’s shooting just 39.3% FG. Guard Fred VanVleet’s shot has also been missing: he’s putting up 14.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 6.0 APG but on just 36.4% FG.

Again, it’s too early to care much about exact numbers. But for now, the Raptors aren’t hot out of the gates.

Toronto’s next game is tomorrow on the road against the Knicks.

Knicks forward Julius Randle gets triple-double in win over Cavs

Knicks forward Julius Randle had himself a game tonight. Via the New York Daily News:

They’re not the most talented team on most nights, but efficient 3-point shooting, a commitment to defense and Julius Randle’s all-around excellence has the Knicks on a two-game winning streak.

Randle, the once-maligned power forward, posted an exquisite triple-double in Tuesday’s 95-86 victory in Cleveland, dropping 28 points with 12 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists. He again served as the Knicks’ top playmaker, and countered sporadic sloppy play (nine turnovers) with early All-Star production. The Knicks used the eighth overall pick last month on Randle’s potential replacement, Obi Toppin. But with Toppin injured, Randle continues to solidify his position as the franchise’s top player.

Randle did commit nine turnovers. But let’s overlook that for today.

The Knicks started Elfrid Payton and R.J. Barrett at guard, Reggie Bullock and Randle at forward, and Mitchell Robinson at center. Three players received bench minutes: Kevin Knox, Nerlens Noel and Frank Ntilikina.

No return date yet for Celtics guard Kemba Walker

The Celtics lost Gordon Hayward in free agency this offseason, and haven’t had starting point guard Kemba Walker in action yet. Via Boston.com:

Kemba Walker still doesn’t have a timeline to return to Celtics’ lineup as he recovers from a stem-cell injection in his left knee.

Walker received the experimental treatment in early October. Prior to the season, he told reporters the injection “definitely calmed my knee down a lot.” …

“No update that I’ve received, other than that he’s progressing,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said.

The Celtics enjoyed a win tonight, beating the Pacers 116-111. Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown started in the backcourt, and Jayson Tatum, Tristan Thompson and Daniel Theis in the frontcourt.

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard is day-to-day

One week into the new season, the Clippers are a work in progress. And per ESPN.com, forward Kawhi Leonard is currently out on a day-to-day basis:

The LA Clippers will attempt to rebound from their most lopsided loss in franchise history without Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard will not suit up against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night as the All-Star forward misses his second straight game due to a mouth laceration. Leonard suffered the injury midway through the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ win in Denver on Christmas night. The injury required eight stitches to close.

The Clippers are at home tonight, hosting the 2-1 Minnesota Timberwolves.

Cavs forward Kevin Love to miss time due to calf injury

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love left Sunday night’s home game against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second quarter and did not return to action after reaggravating a right calf strain initially diagnosed during the preseason.

Further examination and an MRI administered on Monday at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health confirmed the injury.

Love will undergo a series of treatment and rehabilitation and will be reassessed in approximately three to four weeks.

The Cavs are off to a surprise 3-0 start this NBA season. Leading them in scoring is Collin Sexton at 27.0 points per game, Andre Drummond at 20.3 PPG, Darius Garland at 19.0 PPG, and Cedi Osman at 15.7 PPG. Love has been off to a quiet start, which can presumably be blamed on injury.