Ahead of a key meeting between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat on the night of Dec. 11, each of these teams has about the lengthiest injury report they’ve seen so far this season. In the case of second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls, hopefully, the list of absences for this meeting on the road with the Heat is the lengthiest one of the entire season.
The Bulls are missing some key players, mostly due to the league’s health and safety protocol, in this meeting with the Heat. Some of those players are star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan, point guard Coby White, shooting guard/forward Javonte Green, forward Derrick Jones Jr., and rookie point guard Ayo Dosunmu, among others.
Yet, the Heat aren’t looking too good either in terms of absences due to injury. According to the NBA’s most recent injury report update on the evening of Dec. 11, the Heat are set to miss their top star duo in shooting guard/small forward Jimmy Butler and center Bam Adebayo.
Chicago Bulls set to face the Miami Heat without Jimmy Butler on Dec. 11
The Heat have now had Adebayo absent for the last five games due to a hand injury and UCL reconstruction.
But this is the second game in a row that Butler will be missing for the Heat. He is out with a contusion and has missed a good amount of time in the last couple of weeks. Butler has missed five of the last six games for the Heat. Considering the fact that he is out against the Bulls on Dec. 11, he will now miss six of the last seven games.
Butler was off to a hot start this season for the Heat. He was looking like a dark horse MVP contender at the outset of the regular season, and that could still be the case.
Through 18 games played this season for the Heat, Butler is averaging around 23 points per game, six rebounds, five assists, two steals, and 0.5 blocks. And he’s shot around 51 percent from the field, 19 percent from beyond the arc, and 85 percent from the free-throw line.
Donovan and the Bulls are sporting a record of 17-9 coming into this meeting with the Heat following their convincing double-digit loss at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 8. Tip-off time between the Bulls and Heat on Dec. 11 is set for 7 p.m. CT at FTX Arena in Miami.