Will Jimmy Butler play on Tuesday night? Ahead of the Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls matchup on Tuesday night, the superstar was a late add to the injury list while dealing with a Gastrointestinal illness. The team already ruled Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin out for the game.
Jimmy Butler Status Moves Heat vs. Bulls Odds
After opening as 5.5-point favorites, the Heat now sit as just three-point favorites (per DraftKings) against a Bulls team that has greatly struggled throughout the first half of the season. The Athletic’s Shams Charania recently reported that an internal rift in the locker room has arose between he Bulls’ top two stars, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.
Per the report:
The Bulls have held multiple team meetings to try to work out their issues, and that has included one-on-one, face-to-face sitdowns between DeRozan and LaVine, according to team and league sources who were granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly on team dynamics. DeRozan and LaVine have always had a strong mutual respect for each other. Only 10 months ago, over All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, the stars proclaimed themselves as the NBA’s best duo. They maintain a good personal relationship. But their meetings have not led to in-game results so far, with a level of on-court, stylistic tension simply festering throughout the season and being magnified due to the win-loss record.
“I think everybody goes through ups and downs, just like every team does,” LaVine told The Athletic on Tuesday when asked about the matter. “Obviously if we’re not winning games, not everybody’s going to be happy. It’s not going to look as good as it was before. It’s all glitter and show when you’re winning games. But when you’re losing games and you’re trying to do the same things it’s turmoil. Everybody has their right to their own opinion. For me, I keep my head down. I work on my game and try to help my team. I help try to lead the team. That’s where I stand. I just try to take it day by day and evaluate how we’re doing.”
If Jimmy Butler is unavailable, the Heat will likely lean on the likes of Victor Oladipo, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson to play more of an offensive role. In the team’s win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, Herro, Butler and Bam Adebayo all scored over 20 points.
The Bulls are in the midst of a four-game losing streak. At 11-18 and 11th place in the Eastern Conference, it’s unclear if the Bulls will decide to sell at the Trade Deadline. But they’ll certainly need a strong run in the first half to show the front office that they can turn the tide.
Chicago will have an opportunity to get back into the win column against a Heat team that’ll be banged up coming into their tilt.
