Butler again listed as out; Herro, Bradley, Dragic questionable

The Miami Heat will be without All-Star guard Jimmy Butler for a ninth consecutive game when they play the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Butler was listed as out due to health and safety protocols on the 5 p.m. injury report the team submitted Tuesday to the NBA.

There could, however, be relief from the league’s pandemic protocols with guard Avery Bradley, who has missed the past nine games with what he acknowledged was a positive COVID-19 test, listed as questionable for Wednesday night.

The expectation is that Bradley will be upgraded to probable if he produces negative test results ahead of the Nuggets game.

The Heat played Monday night’s road loss to the Brooklyn Nets in the protocol absences of Butler and Bradley, as well as in the injury absences of Tyler Herro, Moe Harkless, Meyers Leonard and Chris Silva.

Harkless, Leonard and Silva again are listed as out.

Harkless missed Monday’s loss at Barclays Center due to a thigh bruise sustained in the first half of Saturday’s loss to the Nets

Leonard has missed the past eight games due to a shoulder strain sustained in the Jan. 9 victory over the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.

Silva has missed the past three games with a strained left hip flexor.

Herro, who has missed the past six games due to neck spams, is now listed as questionable.

In addition, two new injuries are now listed on the Heat injury report, with Goran Dragic listed as questionable with a strained left groin and Gabe Vincent as questionable with a sprained right ankle.

If the four listed as questionable are unable to play, it would leave the Heat with nine available players, one above the NBA minimum required to be in uniform on game night.

The Heat did not practice Tuesday after returning from their 1-3 trip, which included two losses to the Nets and one to the Toronto Raptors, leaving them on their second three-game losing streak of the season.

The Heat could get a different type of relief on the back end of the upcoming back-toback set, with the Los Angeles Clippers, who visit AmericanAirlines Arena on Thursday night, listing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the NBA’s pandemic protocols.

Because the next two games are a back-to-back set, the Heat likely will not practice Friday, which could impact the timing Butler’s return. Because of the timing of Butler’s testing, he is two days behind Bradley in the NBA’s protocol sequencing.

The Heat’s next scheduled practice is expected to be Sunday, following Saturday night’s game against the visiting Sacramento Kings.

The Heat’s shorthanded situation in the backcourt has left coach Erik Spoelstra playing 34-year-old Dragic more minutes than anticipated, including 32:36 in Monday night’s 98-85 loss to the Nets, when the Heat scored only 14 points in the fourth quarter.

“It will get better,” Spoelstra said. “When that time is, I don’t know. But we’ll have more reinforcements on the way. And right now he just wants to help our team win, so he’s laying it all out there.

“He’s playing a few more minutes than we would typically play him right now, but he can handle it. He’s in great shape. This is where we are in the season. Goran’s awesome. He’ll adjust and make whatever role work.”

Dragic said he appreciates the need to fight through.

“I’m fine with it either way,” he said. “I told [Spoelstra], I’m here for him, for this team, whatever he decides. He’s put in a unique situation, a lot of players out. And I knew I was going to try to play a lot of minutes.

“It takes a toll on your body, but I’m just doing my job. Like I said, as soon as we get guys back, we’re going to get back to normality with the rotation and everything’s going to be much easier.”