Butler to Dragic is sit out again; questionable

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been ruled out for a second consecutive game with what the team now is terming right foot soreness.

Guard Goran Dragic is listed as questionable for Thursday’s 4 p.m. game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Disney World’s Wide World of Sports complex due to a sprained left ankle.

The Heat also have ruled rookie forward KZ Okpala out due to personal reasons.

Butler missed Tuesday’s 112-106 victory over the Boston Celtics due to what the team initially had termed “right ankle soreness.” It was the 12th game Butler missed this season.

He missed the first three games for his daughter’s birth, a game in November due to illness, two in January with back soreness and then hip soreness, two in February because of a shoulder strain, two later in February due to a personal matter and then the final game before the NBA’s four-month shutdown, on March 11, with a toe injury.

The Heat absence.

Kelly Olynyk started in his place Tuesday.

Dragic limped out of Tuesday’s victory with 5.2 seconds left after twisting his ankle. X-rays taken immediately after the game came back negative.

The veteran point guard has missed 11 games this season. He have gone 6-6 in his missed a game in November due to illness, nine in December because of a strained right groin and one in January due to calf soreness, with the Heat going 7-4 during his absences.

Should Dragic be sidelined it could open playing time for veteran wing Solomon Hill, whose time at Disney has been limited to a 2-minute, 18-second stint of mopup duty in Saturday’s 125-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Hill was inactive for Monday’s 107-103 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Another option could be twoway guard Gabe Vincent, who has been on the 13-player active roster the past two games.

Okpala has been inactive for the Heat’s first three games at Disney, where the games are being played in the absence of fans, as the NBA resumes from the March 11 shutdown due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

The matchup against the Bucks will be the fourth of eight “seeding” games for the Heat before the Aug. 17 start of the playoffs.

While the injury report for the Heat remains uncertain, the NBA issued another positive coronavirus update Thursday.

The league reported that of the 343 players tested for COVID-19 since test results were last announced July 29, zero have returned confirmed positive tests.

The NBA noted in that release that in the event a player returns a confirmed positive test, he will be isolated until he is cleared for leaving isolation.