On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
The Miami Heat have granted Jimmy Butler a leave of absence following the passing of a family member. The announcement came after Butler missed several practices, with his agent releasing a statement on behalf of the team.
The statement, issued through Jimmy Butler's agent, expressed condolences to Butler and his family during this difficult time. It read:
"Jimmy Butler has been granted a leave of absence as he deals with the death of a family member. Jimmy and his family ask for privacy at this point in time as they navigate this loss. Updates will be given when appropriate."
Butler's absence from the team comes at a challenging period for the Miami Heat. Despite his stellar performance this season, averaging 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists with impressive shooting percentages, injuries and other absences have impacted both Butler's availability and the team's performance.
Missing 15 games due to various reasons, Butler's chances for end-of-season awards may be done, especially if he continues to miss games during this leave of absence.
The Heat, currently sitting at 8th in the league with a record of 28-24, have faced challenges beyond Butler's absence. A recent downturn in form saw them drop from 4th to 8th in the standings, with a notable seven-game losing streak adding to their struggles.
As the team navigates these challenges, Butler's well-being and personal needs take precedence. The Heat organization, along with fans and teammates, offer their support to Butler and his family during this difficult time, prioritizing his privacy and allowing him the necessary space to grieve and heal.
The Chances Of Heat Replicating Their 2023 Playoff Succes Looks Bleak
The Miami Heat's historic playoff run in 2023, where they defied expectations as the 8th seeded team, is etched in NBA lore. Led by Jimmy Butler's stellar performances and a well-rounded squad, they orchestrated a series of stunning upsets, knocking out top-seeded teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics on their way to the NBA Finals, where they ultimately fell short against the Denver Nuggets.
However, replicating that success in the current season appears increasingly unlikely. The toll of last year's deep playoff run seems to have affected the team, and they now face tougher competition in the Eastern Conference. Rivals like the Bucks, Celtics, and Knicks have bolstered their rosters with significant talent acquisitions, making the path to success more challenging for the Heat.
Furthermore, the Heat's advanced statistics present additional concerns. They rank 23rd in offensive rating and 9th in defensive rating, indicating shortcomings on both ends of the court compared to last season. While their defense was a strong suit during their playoff run, this year's team struggles to generate timely shots and offensive consistency, which could hinder their chances of repeating last year's success.
Despite these challenges, it's unwise to entirely count out the Heat. Their resilience and ability to defy the odds were evident in their previous playoff run, and they remain a formidable force in the league. While the road to another deep playoff run may seem daunting, the Heat's history of surprising performances suggests that anything is possible, especially in the high-stakes environment of the NBA playoffs.
More must-reads:
- Lakers get encouraging Luka Doncic injury update
- Hawks move to add big-man depth with Rockets G League standout
- The 'NBA minutes leaders by season' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
TODAY'S BEST
NBA Analyst Ranks Kevin Durant as a Top Ten Western Conference Player
The NBA's talent pool is at an all-time high, as the league is overflowing with All-Star caliber players. The stars of today range from longtime veterans like LeBron James, to multi-time MVP's like Nikola Jokic and now budding superstars like Victor Wembanyama. Many of those stars reside in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, which has become a bloodbath of talent in recent seasons. To keep up with the wild west, the Houston Rockets brought in a superstar of their own in the form of 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant. Despite his old age of 36 –– soon to be 37 –– many still believe that Durant can be a top-tier star in the league and help lead the Rockets to their championship aspirations. But just where exactly among those top tier stars does Durant stand? NBA.com analyst Shaun Powell believes that Durant is the seventh-best player in the loaded Western Conference. "As he creeps deeper into his late 30s, Durant can still get buckets on anyone," Powell said. "He may be running out of teams to join, but not running out of time. Durant is capable of getting 30 or 40 points on any given night, without forcing a single shot. His ability to score off the bounce, in mid-range and from deep is why he’s still a No. 1 option. The rest of his game — defense, rebounding, passing — remains respectable for his age. Much like his 2024 Team USA teammates Curry and LeBron James, Durant is playing tricks on the aging process and keeping his performance level high." To Powell's point, Durant is still one of the best scorers in the association. In 2024-2025, Durant had 21 games of 30-plus points –– tying for 12th most in the league despite missing 20 games. He averaged 26.6 points per game on 52.7 / 43 / 83.9 shooting splits while carrying the Suns offense throughout portions of the season. With Durant on the floor, the Suns' offense averaged 118.5 points per game, and maintained a 58.8 effective field goal percentage –– ranking in the 96th percentile for the latter. Even in his old age, he's proven capable of leading a great offense, so is his ranking too low? Powell's full list 1. Nikola Jokic 2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 3. Anthony Edwards 4. Luka Doncic 5. Stephen Curry 6. Anthony Davis 7. Kevin Durant 8. Kawhi Leonard 9. LeBron James 10. Victor Wembanyama Durant grouped with his fellow decade-experienced veterans, ranking in between the quartet of Curry, Davis, Leonard and James. An argument can certainly be made for Durant to be above Davis, as Davis hasn't operated as a true first option in quite some time. What's also of note is the other two Houston stars –– Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson –– are nowhere to be found on the list. Powell even put together a pseudo-honorable mention paragraph, that didn't mention either Rocket. "With all due respect to Harden of the LA Clippers, Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker, here are the 10 best Western Conference players heading into next season," Powell said. It's reasonable that Sengun and Thompson didn't make the top 10, but did they deserve to be included in the honorable mention group? If not this year, they'll certainly be making a case for it during their 2025-2026 campaigns, and will shoot to make the list next season.
Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's biggest find is ready to take a huge step forward, and it could be huge for Brian Flores' defense
After joint practice on Wednesday between the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots, I was asked by some members of the Patriots beat about just one player. "Who's 61? He's a dude." That player is Jalen Redmond, who has quite the story heading into his second season with the Vikings. He was playing in the UFL in the spring of 2024 with the Arlington Renegades. He was a signing the Vikings made on June 18th, 2024, which came after mandatory minicamp. Redmond was the 90th player on the roster and excelled throughout training camp to earn a roster spot. That ability is showing up once again. Jalen Redmond is taking another step forward The signing of Redmond was a massive win for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his scouting staff, especially Ryan Grigson, who was given a lot of credit for finding him. "I remember he [Grigson] called me and said, 'I like this guy.' I think it was late May," Adofo-Mensah explained. "You have to ask yourself, what's your standard for bringing people in, because a lot of good players are on teams already, so there's going to be something there that's not perfect, not clean, and earlier he had injuries, so you've got to understand why he's available, but ultimately here's why he might be a good bet. "And you saw the flashes for an interior guy with burst, his run defense kind of jumped out to me. That's the other thing, when you've been together for two or three years, and my history with Grigson before, he knows how to communicate with me, makes a cut-up, knows exactly what we look for." You can see the power and explosiveness in Redmond's game. He rarely gets washed out by the offensive line, and often penetrates the backfield with his ability. Where things have gotten really interesting with Redmons is seeing how good he can be from a short and long-term perspective. Last season, Redmond played in 13 games and flashed in a major way. While he went undrafted out of Oklahoma, it wasn't so much due to talent, but a health issue that kept him from being selected. He certainly looks like a player who should have been selected. Over the course of the season, Redmond got one sack and 6.0 tackles for loss to pair with 18 tackles. His ability to be a penetrating force on the line earned him a starting role at the end of the season, with two starts in his first year with the Vikings. Going into year two, Redmond shouldn't be overlooked. He won't be a starter with the additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, but it shouldn't be much of a surprise if he approaches 500 snaps as a rotational player. His teammates believe he's a stud, something that Jonathan Greenard emphasized last week. "Redmond is a dog," said Greenard after Redmond's great practice on Thursday. "Jalen's been a dog since last year in training camp. I knew he was a dog when he got thrown out of practices last year. So I was like, listen, from that day forward, he got thrown out, he came back in just completely, just dominating. And at that point even to see it during the season and see him continuously build. Now I'm like, man, everybody knows, but when you see, obviously, you bring in two guys like JA [Jonathan Allen] and Grave [Javon Hargrave], you kind of think that he gets put in the wayside, making the same place he was last year, if not more. And that just helps us out to know that it's not gonna drop off whenever those guys get a breather or something like that. If I'm coaching, I'm putting him in." Don't sleep on Redmond going into this season, as he's only getting better.
Milwaukee Brewers: Craig Counsell Blasts Former Team’s 14-Game Winning Streak, Gets Caught Lying
Jets QB Justin Fields under fire for limited 'processing' in preseason
The biggest question coming into the summer about New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields has not been answered or even experimented with much during the preseason. Fields is known for his ability to scramble, but has been criticized for his inability to consistently push the ball downfield as a passer during his time with the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers. On Saturday, Fields finished 1-of-5 passing for four yards in the Jets' 31-12 loss to the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic has noticed that the Jets aren't requiring Fields to attempt deep throws at practices, joint practices and preseason games. Rosenblatt doesn't believe Fields' 3.9 air yards per attempt in the preseason can translate to winning when the games start counting in September. "So far this summer, Fields has not inspired confidence that he’s a different quarterback than he was in Chicago and Pittsburgh — that is, an extremely athletic quarterback with good arm strength but limitations in terms of accuracy and processing," Rosenblatt wrote. "It’s only the preseason and far too early to panic, but it is fair to wonder how long the Jets can survive without a passing game that can threaten defenses. A quarterback who’s not willing to take shots down the field, in the preseason, is not someone who’s going to scare opposing defensive coordinators." The Jets don't have another realistic option to start at quarterback other than Fields. Tyrod Taylor is a career backup. Adrian Martinez and Brady Cook are battling for a spot on the practice squad. The Jets need to see what Fields can do when he has to throw the ball downfield to win games. Even if Fields doesn't chuck passes in preseason games, the Jets coaching staff needs to force the 2021 first-round pick to attempt deep throws at practice. If Fields cannot execute that part of the offense, the Jets should look at bringing in another quarterback before the regular season.
Winners And Losers From Eagles Surprise Trade For John Metchie
It feels like there’s another shoe to drop after the Eagles acquired another receiver in a trade for John Metchie III with the Houston Texans. They dipped into their tight end depth and dealt Harrison Bryant in the deal, but did they really need another receiver? Well, they do if they trade what is now a surplus of them for something else – say another cornerback or maybe some defensive edge depth. And they certainly do if there is more to the injury that has followed A.J. Brown throughout most of training camp. It was general manager Howie Roseman’s second trade of summer. Last week, he on-boarded cornerback Jakorian Bennett in a deal that sent defensive tackle Thomas Booker to the Las Vegas Raiders. As of now, here are winners and loser from the somewhat surprise trade for a receiver: WINNERS John Metchie. The receiver leaves a crowded receiver room where playing time could have been scarce. Plus, he’s another product of the University of Alabama. He becomes the ninth player from the Crimson Tide program on the Eagles’ current 91-man roster, including Jalen Hurts, who spent three seasons at Alabama before transferring to Oklahoma for his final collegiate season. Of course, Metchie could be a loser on this list, too, because he is leaving one deep receiver room and stepping into another – unless the Eagles trade one away. Kylen Granson and E.J. Jenkins. The two tight ends are in good position to stick around with Bryant gone. Granson probably will be the third tight end on the 53-man roster. Jenkins is likely ticketed for the practice squad, though the converted receiver has taken big steps this season in his transition to being a tight end and he is up to 255 pounds. Run game. Metchie is considered an above average blocker in the run game as a receiver. It was one of his strengths at Alabama and has only gotten better during his time in the league. Who Are Some Of The Losers From The Deal To Acquire John Metchie? LOSERS (pick a receiver, any receiver) Darius Cooper. After a breakout game in the preseason opener and a solid camp, Cooper was targeted only once against the Browns on Saturday. Of course, he played with a pair of quarterbacks who struggled in Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Kyle McCord. Perhaps the Eagles’ plan was to slow-play Cooper in the second preseason game and hope to stash him on the practice squad. Terrace Marshall. The receiver started camp strong but suffered an injury that cost him some time. He returned recently and played against the Browns, catching two passes for 15 yards on four targets. He will likely be cut now. Or traded. Jahan Dotson. The receiver has had a strong camp and has looked extremely confident in his first full season with the Eagles. Perhaps good enough to trade for something Roseman believes is a bigger need after three weeks of camp. Has his job as the No. 3 receiver been compromised? Bubble players. If the Eagles don’t trade another receiver, they will probably end up keeping six, which means a job for one less player on the roster bubble. Perhaps an offensive lineman, for instance, such as Trevor Keegan or Cam Williams or a linebacker like Lance Dixon. Last year’s draft picks, Johnny Wilson and Ainias Smith, have done enough to make the roster. Wilson didn’t play on Saturday, which is a sure indication he has a spot sewn up. Smith has a pair of touchdown catches in the preseason, both on third-and-goal throws. Maybe one of them will be dangled in a deal.
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
