Heat aims for fast series start
While the Miami Heat's star player is expected to play, the same can't be said for the Philadelphia 76ers' franchise cornerstone.
Jimmy Butler (knee), who missed Game 5 of the Heat's first-round series win against the Atlanta Hawks, will likely return at home to face the Sixers tonight in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Tyler Herro (non-COVID illness) is also expected back while Kyle Lowry (hamstring) has been ruled out for the topseeded Heat.
Philadelphia's Joel Embiid is dealing with a bevy of injuries including a torn ligament in his right thumb, a concussion and an orbital fracture from when Toronto's
Pascal Siakam elbowed him late in Game 6 with the Sixers up by 29 points.
Butler, a former Sixer, believes that he'll be 100 per cent to open this tough series.
“It's all right,” Butler said, referring to his knee. “We (had) another day in between. More treatment. Get out there, rip and run. And I know it'll be ready to hold up come Monday. But the time off has been great for myself and so many other guys that are nicked up.”
No matter who's available, the Heat are preparing for a battle. It's the only way they know.
“I think both rosters are going into this knowing both sides have enough to get the job done,” Butler said. “We've got a job to do. They've got a job to do. I'm banking on the Miami Heat.”
Said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra: “We are who we are. We're not a passive defensive team. If you want to be aggressive, you have to be exceptionally detailed, disciplined, focused. We have deep respect for them with the names they have available.”
The fourth-seeded Sixers haven't advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2001 and last won a championship in 1983.
MAVS VS. SUNS
Two teams hoping their top scorers can stay healthy will tip off their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series when the Dallas Mavericks visit the Phoenix Suns for Game 1 tonight.
Both teams overcame the absence of their young superstars in tough first-round matchups.
The Mavericks ousted the Utah Jazz, and the Suns survived the eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans, both winning in six games. But Dallas was without Luca Doncic and Phoenix was missing Devin Booker for three of the six contests.
Doncic missed the first three games of the Utah series with a calf strain suffered in the final week of the regular season as the Mavericks were attempting to improve upon their No. 4 seeding in the West.
The league's third-leading scorer during the regular season at 28.4 points per game, Doncic picked right up where he left off upon returning for Game 4 at Utah, scoring 30, 33 and 24 points over the final three contests, recording two double-doubles and missing a third by one rebound.
“The first game, I was a little janky,” he said of his return to action. “But I felt better (in Game 5).”
Booker suffered his injury — a hamstring strain — in Game 2 against the Pelicans, then sat out until Thursday's 115-109 clincher at New Orleans. He played 32 minutes in that game, contributing 13 points to the win.
Suns coach Monty Williams eased Booker back into the action by bringing him off the bench in the second half Thursday, something he doesn't plan on doing again moving forward.