Jimmy Butler remains out for Sunday’s game vs. Pistons.

Update, Dec. 18 — Butler remains sidelined with his tailbone injury, and he’s out for Sunday’s game against the Pistons as a result.

Update, Dec. 14 — Butler has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. the 76ers. The Heat are taking the cautious approach with their star, but it seems like he’s a long ways from returning.

Update, Dec. 12 — Butler has been ruled out of Monday’s game.

Update, Dec. 11 — Butler is unlikely to play in Monday’s game against the Cavaliers. The two-way star has been out for nearly two weeks now, so this injury is definitely something to monitor when it comes to long-term impact.

Update, Dec. 10 — Butler has been ruled out for Saturday’s contest against the Bulls. The Heat will likely still be favored in this game, as the Bulls are dealing with a roster shortage due to COVID protocols.

Update, Dec. 5 — Butler is questionable for Monday’s game against the Grizzlies. The Heat have been cautious with their star, so there’s a good chance Butler will miss another game to start the week.

Update, Dec. 2 — Butler has been ruled out for Friday night’s game vs. the Indiana Pacers. The Heat announced the All-Star would not travel with the team, along with Adebayo, Victor Oladipo and Markieff Morris.

Update, Dec. 1 — Butler has been ruled out while Herro will play Wednesday vs. the Cavaliers. Adebayo will undergo surgery to repair a torn UCL in his right thumb and is expected to miss 6 weeks, so safe to say he’s out.

Miami Heat G Jimmy Butler and G Tyler Herro have been ruled out for Monday’s game vs. the Denver Nuggets. Butler is dealing with a tailbone injury while Herro has an illness unrelated to Covid-19. Butler was able to play 36 minutes in the Heat’s 107-104 win over the Chicago Bulls this weekend. Herro was unable to play in that game due to soreness.

Fantasy basketball impact

With Herro and Butler sidelined, the Heat will need to compensate for a lot of offense. Gabe Vincent and Max Strus will likely be the two players to see the biggest increase in minutes. Each player played 31 minutes in Chicago off the bench. Vincent could end up starting in place of Butler. Caleb Martin could also see some run. All three players are sub-$4K on DraftKings and will be popular GPP salary-savers.

Betting impact

The Heat were 7.5-point favorites for this game but that will likely change now that Butler is out. Miami should still have a shot at covering the spread with how poorly the Nuggets have been playing. Denver has lost six in a row and Nikola Jokic is out with a wrist injury. So the Heat still have plenty to win this game with Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo both healthy. It may be smarter to wait and see how the game goes in the first half before reacting to a spread. You could also see what the 1Q and 1H lines look like and back Miami if it’s basically a pick ‘em.