Miami

Heat

Jaquez missed Miami’s last two games, and his absence freed up additional minutes for rookie Pelle Larsson. Nikola Jovic’s decrease in minutes has also helped Larsson from a playing time standpoint. There’s no need to stream Larsson, especially if Jaquez plays in Denver.

Love has yet to appear in a game this season, and his absence means Thomas Bryant will continue to serve as the backup center. There’s no need to consider streaming Bryant with starting center Bam Adebayo healthy.

Adebayo recorded a full stat line, but this was a rough night for the Heat star. He shot 5-of-21 from the field, dropping his percentage to 39.8% from the season. The good news for fantasy managers is that Bam has been productive enough across the board to minimize the impact of the low field goal percentage. Punt that category, and he’s been close to a top-25 player thus far.

With Jaime Jaquez Jr. out due to an illness, more minutes were available to Highsmith on Wednesday. He played well enough to start the third quarter, bumping Nikola Jovic from the lineup. The volatile nature of that fifth starting spot makes it difficult to trust Highsmith, Jovic, or Jaquez (when healthy) in most fantasy leagues. Jovic only played five minutes against the Suns, scoring four points and grabbing one rebound.

Miami had a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime, but the Heat never got off a shot. Butler mistakenly dribbled inside the arc, then awkwardly tossed the ball to Tyler Herro after double-clutching a 3-point shot. Herro didn’t get the ball in time, and that was the ballgame. Butler’s had his moments this season, but fantasy managers were hoping for more consistent production than what they’ve received thus far.

Final possession aside, Herro had a good night in Phoenix. He’s scored 27 points or more in three of the last four games, with the recent run pushing Herro’s per-game value into the top-50. With Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo yet to find their groove, the Heat will need more scoring from Herro. Miami plays two more games in Week 3, beginning with the Nuggets on Friday.

Both guys missed Monday’s game, though Love has yet to play at all this season. Josh Richardson and Alec Burks should once again soak up the reserve minutes on the wing, while Nikola Jovic and Pelle Larsson will fill out some of the frontcourt minutes. Larsson is coming off playing 25 minutes in their last game, though he has largely been stuck on the bench this season.

Herro worked well with Jimmy Butler on Monday as the tandem provided most of the offense for the Heat. Herro drilled 5-of-11 3-point attempts, which was a game-high. He’ll look to build on another strong performance as the Heat take on the Suns Wednesday.

Butler had 27 points on 19 shots and made 8-of-11 free throws. He was +11 in 36 minutes and had only one turnover in the one-point loss. Butler missed a shot that would’ve put the Heat up by three with nine second left before Domantas Sabonis’ game-winner with less than one second left. With Butler in a contract year, fantasy managers can expect more games like this. The Heat play the Suns on Wednesday before weekend matchups with the Nuggets and Timberwolves.

While it was initially believed Love would be available after missing time for personal reasons, he will not play on Monday. The veteran power forward/center’s continued absence will not impact fantasy basketball, as there aren’t many minutes behind Bam Adebayo.