Con: No timetable for Terry Rozier or Josh Richardson
Although the news that Rozier avoided a serious injury and sustained only a right knee sprain is good for the Heat, there still is no timetable for his return. He is considered “week to week,” and it’s unclear how much time he’ll miss. By the time the Heat resume their season, it will have only been 10 days since Rozier took that hard fall against the Boston Celtics.
It’s unlikely that Rozier would join the team for the upcoming four-game trip, bumping his earliest possible return date to one of the Heat’s next home games – either March 2 against the Utah Jazz or March 5 against the Detroit Pistons. But even that would be about a two-week absence.
Three weeks would be in time for a home game against the Washington Wizards (March 10) or a prime-time Finals rematch against the Denver Nuggets (March 13). That would be another eight or nine games missed for Rozier.
Then there’s Richardson, whose dislocated right shoulder will be re-evaluated around the time the team returns from the All-Star break. There’s no timetable for his return either – the reporting is that he’ll be out for “a few weeks.”
With Butler, Rozier and Richardson out over the last two games, the Heat have been starting Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, Nikola Jovic and Bam Adebayo. That lineup is a plus-10 in 26 minutes across both wins. Butler will assume his role as a starter when he returns.