Miami Heat Fantasy Hoops: With Jimmy Butler Injured, All Eyes On Caleb Martin
On the second night of a back-to-back, the Miami Heat faced off against the team with the best record in the NBA on Monday night, the Golden State Warriors.
With a laundry list of players injured or in Health and Safety Protocols, the Heat were in for a challenge from the start.
Although the Heat remained close for the majority of the contest, a costly injury to Jimmy Butler was the nail in the coffin for Miami’s chances in this one. Butler finished the night with the second-fewest fantasy points among the Heat’s starting five, ending with 30.5 fantasy points in 28 minutes.
With 38.3 fantasy points, Caleb Martin led the Heat in total numbers.
His 19 points, nine rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block paired nicely with his 57.1 percent field goal shooting and three made triples.
The Miami Heat went down in the game and Jimmy Butler on Monday night. In the NBA Fantasy realm though, that means Caleb Martin is a must-grab.
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Despite shooting an unfortunate two of seven from the field, Omer Yurtseven collected 17 rebounds and continued to show his elite fantasy value in a depleted Heat frontcourt.
The starting backcourt of Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro could not buy a basket on Monday night. Lowry made four of 13 attempts from the field, while Herro connected on just seven of his team-high 23 shots.
Lowry salvaged a decent fantasy line with 11 assists and 34.7 fantasy points. However, Herro ended with the fewest fantasy points of any Heat starter, not contributing much in the peripheral stats.
On a night that saw a short-handed Heat team become even more injury-plagued, Miami held its own against one of the championship favorites in the NBA. Until more is known about Butler’s injury, the safe fantasy bet is to make sure Martin and Yurtseven are not on a waiver wire in any of your leagues.
If Butler has another extended absence, Martin is set to take a much larger offensive role.
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Other than the must-add players mentioned above, managers should make sure Herro and Lowry are locked into their lineups for the foreseeable future as well. They could be in for a lot of usage with Butler sidelined.