ASK IRA: Are Heat injury absences a matter of prudence and practicality?
Q: Jimmy Butler out? It is unbelievable how players are always hurt with today’s medicine. Every time when they finally get healthy someone is out. Players used to play 40-plus min for decades, Why not today when nutrition and medicine is better? They play less and make more money, Twisted. Really frustrating. – Roy, Miami.
A: I appreciate your frustrations. And it was frustrating Tuesday when the Heat announced Jimmy Butler would be out with his strained left calf. But what I think has changed more than any other element is how inconsequential the regular season has become, with 20 of the 30 teams advancing to some sort of postseason play when factoring in the play-in round. Beyond that, with so much more of a priority of being right for the second half of the season and the playoffs, the first half of the schedule has almost come to be viewed as a warm-up act. So I’m not sure it isn’t as much the teams as the players when it comes to sitting out in November and December. Is that right? Arguably not. But it also is the way it has become. Too many teams in the postseason; too many games on the schedule.
Q: It seems to me that Jimmy Butler is being relied on too much to make that final shot, game-winning shot. It would seem like they would either go with Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson. In recent memory Butler has missed too many of those shots. He seems to be more of an inside guy than an outside guy when it comes to shot taking. – Bill, Tamarac.
A: Look, there is no way that a Jimmy Butler 3-pointer was the shot of choice at the close Monday night against the Timberwolves. But what else do you expect Erik Spoelstra to say, other than to support his player? And the other part of it is that Jimmy also will do what Jimmy wants to do. Based on all he has done in driving the Heat deep in the playoffs, Jimmy has as much leeway as any Heat player. And sometimes that meant wanting to do it his way. So yay? What else do you expect the Heat to say?
Q: Now that the Heat have their roster mostly healthy, I hope they’ll do for Jaime Jaquez Jr., what they did for Tyler Herro early in his career, that is give him extended stretches with the second unit where he’s the primary shot creator on the floor. I’d hate to see his growth stagnate because of having to defer. – Ray, Deerfield Beach.
A: Some of that will have to do with when Tyler Herro gets most of his time. But the opportunity will be there. Plus Jaime Jaquez Jr. has shown with his cuts that he can thrive off the ball, and with his ;playmaking. Basically, Jaime has the look of a player who can fit with anyone and everyone.