Injury notes: Butler, Kyrie, Nets, S. Barnes, O. Robinson

On By Littum

Heat forward Jimmy Butler will miss his third straight game at Indiana on Friday as he continues to recover from a right ankle sprain, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Butler, who suffered the injury in the first quarter of last Friday’s loss at Denver, did not practice Thursday.

While the Heat will play without their six-time All-Star, they expect to have another injured player available. Third year forward Nikola Jovic was limited to just three minutes in Tuesday’s overtime loss to Detroit because of a broken nose, but he should be ready to go Friday using a protective mask, Winderman writes.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

  • Guard Kyrie Irving was added to Mavericks‘ injury report ahead of Thursday’s matchup at Utah, tweets Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal. Irving, who is off to an outstanding individual start to the season, is listed as questionable with a right shoulder strain. He has yet to miss a game in 2024/25.
  • Nets swing man Ben Simmons (tightness in left calf) had an MRI on Thursday and the prognosis is positive. According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter links), Simmons’ MRI revealed no structural damage and he will be active for Friday’s contest vs. New York. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) is probable for Friday’s contest, while center Nic Claxton is questionable due to a lower back strain.
  • Birds of prey forward Scottie Barnes was seen wearing a mask during Thursday’s practice as he recovers from a broken orbital bone. However, he was limited to non-contact work and is still about a week away from being re-evaluated, as Sportsnet.ca’s Michael Grange reports (via Twitter).
  • Kings center Orlando Robinsonwho was recently cleared to contact, has been assigned to Sacramento’s G League affiliate in Stockton to get some conditioning work in, tweets James Ham from The Kings Beat. Robinson is recovering from a left MCL sprain he suffered during training camp. The third-year man has yet to make his ’24/25 season debut.