November 16, 2024
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Will Jimmy Butler be available when the Sixers face the Heat on Monday? If not, Tyler Herro becomes even more important.
After three weeks and change of being decimated by injury luck, is there a world in which the tables turn for the Sixers in the week ahead?
According to Sixers head coach Nick Nurse, nine-time All-Star Paul George has officially been lifted of all minutes restrictions and other on-court limitations. With days off in between each of the Sixers' three upcoming games, it is conceivable that Joel Embiid will be available all week. Tyrese Maxey's return could come at the end of week; if not it should come very soon after.
Meanwhile, the Sixers are running into a pair of teams dealing with injuries to their most important players right now. Let's break down the next handful of days:
Jimmy Butler has missed three straight games -- and only played seven minutes in the prior contest -- due to an ankle injury. His availability against the Sixers appears to be very much up in the air. The apparent friction between Butler and the Miami organization has seemingly only grown in recent times, with his potential free agency next summer looming. Could Butler demand a trade if the struggling Heat continue to sputter and he decides he no longer sees himself finishing his career with the team he has brought to the NBA Finals on two separate occasions?
Even with all of the drama, Butler is a dangerous player who in a down year was averaging 18.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game in 2024-25 before getting injured. No team is going to be better without him, but at 35 years old with a lengthy injury history, Miami will have to be careful. The Heat also play on Sunday night in Indianapolis, so they will have to return home Monday night to face the Sixers in the second leg of a back-to-back.
If Butler does miss the game against his former team, look for Heat guard Tyler Herro to be the focus of the Sixers' defensive gameplan. Herro has been on an absolutely torrid stretch as a shooter and scorer to start his sixth NBA season, thriving in every aspect of offensive basketball. Herro's line on Tuesday night against Detroit was absurd: 40 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals, all while shooting 14-of-27 from the field and 10-of-17 from three-point range. Herro is flawed, but when he gets going he can be nearly impossible to stop.
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With Embiid and George sidelined, the Maxey-led Sixers lost handily to a Grizzlies team spearheaded by Ja Morant earlier this month. The results of the game were quickly discarded after Embiid's postgame locker room altercation with columnist Marcus Hayes.
Now, Embiid and George should both be on the floor for a rematch -- with Maxey and Morant both likely to be in street clothes. The Grizzlies announced on Saturday that Morant was week-to-week with a hip injury; returning to action within 11 days of such a diagnosis would not be easy.
Still, tackling Memphis will be a challenge. They have accumulated tremendous depth year after year, with the shining stars of their developmental program now being backup point guard Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jay Huff, who both torched the Sixers in the teams' Nov. 2 matchup.
Another player who was absent for that game but should be on the floor on Wednesday is Marcus Smart, who the Sixers and their fans know far too well. Smart has yet to find his footing in the year and change since being traded to Memphis by the Boston Celtics, but provides some stability at the guard position.
Before the season started, this game would have looked like an obvious win. Not only are the Sixers struggling to become whole right now, but Brooklyn has been far more competitive than most imagined they would be. The Nets are expected to trade several veterans at the upcoming deadline, but valuable contributors such as Dennis Schröder, Dorian Finney-Smith and Cameron Johnson -- all of which being potential trade pieces in a few months -- have helped rookie head coach Jordi Fernández shatter early expectations (as has youngster Cam Thomas, who scores in bunches).
Brooklyn center Nic Claxton, one of the strongest shot-blockers in the NBA, was ruled out for at least a week on Friday, essentially ruling him out for this game. Claxton is the only true five on the Nets' roster, so dealing with Embiid down low could become very troublesome for Brooklyn -- and the bulk of the responsibility there could fall upon Ben Simmons of all people.
Schröder, Finney-Smith and Johnson are all players to watch when the Sixers seek midseason rotation upgrades.
MORE: Is Jared McCain already untouchable in trade talks?
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