MIAMI _ When it comes to the Miami Heat's tenuous injury situation, the good news is an idle weekend, a pair of days off for Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn to rehabilitate and recover.
The flip side of the schedule is that the time off will be followed by consecutive games at AmericanAirlines Arena on Monday against the Orlando Magic and Tuesday against the Boston Celtics.
The greatest unknown at the moment is Butler, who hobbled to the locker room midway through the fourth quarter of Friday night's 122-117 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, after twisting his right ankle for the second time.
That injury came in the wake of the Heat sitting out Dragic, due to a sore left calf, and Nunn, due to a sore left Achilles.
"It's a sprain," coach Erik Spoelstra said of Butler's injury. "We'll have to re-evaluate. I don't even like commenting after sprained ankles. You have to wait until the next day to see how a guy feels. He's getting treatment already and we'll go from there.
"Same with Goran and K-Nunn. At least we have a couple of days before the next game and it'll give them an opportunity to really get into the training room and get some treatment."
The injuries come with the team having ruled forward Justise Winslow out for at least another week, amid ongoing issues with a lower-back bone bruise that have had him out for all but one game since Dec. 4.
The Heat have won the past two games missed by Butler, on Jan. 5 against the Portland Trail Blazers, when he sat out with a sore lower back, and this past Monday against the Sacramento Kings, when he was out with a sore right hip. Even Friday, after Butler left with 6:09 to play amid a 113-99 deficit, the Heat were able to rally within three before falling. The Heat are 4-2 overall in his absence.
