After losing six straight games, the Sacramento Kings have now (improbably) won four straight games and moved up to 11th in the Western Conference. Now, the Kings host the downtrodden Miami Heat in their second straight game.
The reason we’re calling the Heat’s season “underdog” is the massive fiasco that unfolded between the team and their star forward Jimmy Butler – a fiasco that brought down their once-promising season.
Will Butler be available for this game? What about the rest of the Heat team? And who will the Kings have for this game? Here is the full injury report ahead of Monday night’s contest.
Sacramento Kings Injury Report
After an unlucky start to the season on the injury front, the Kings have returned to health (they have been one of the healthiest teams in the league in each of the last two seasons). As it stands, the Kings only have one player on their entire roster according to the injury report.
Unfortunately, this player is also the best player on the team: De’Aaron Fox. Fox missed last night’s game against the Golden State Warriors after suffering a heavy fall against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Although his injury status for tonight’s game has yet to be officially updated, Fox carried the designation of questionable heading into the Warriors game before ultimately being ruled out. Normally, when a player is listed as questionable, it means they have about a 25% chance of making the game. It seems unlikely that Fox’s status would have improved that much in a single day where one would feel good about his chances of playing. So he probably won’t play this game either.
Miami Heat Injury Report
First of all, Butler won’t play in this game, and it won’t be because of injury. As many of you know, on Friday the Heat suspended Butler for seven games, citing conduct detrimental to the team as the reason. This will be Butler’s second of seven games. The National Basketball Players Association filed a lawsuit against the suspension. But in the meantime, Butler won’t be on the court against the Kings.
Outside of Butler, the Heat have three players on their injury report. Dru Smith, one of the feel-good stories of the season, is out for the remainder of 2024-25 after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon. Meanwhile, Haywood Highsmith is listed as questionable (personal reasons) and Josh Richardson is listed as questionable (heel).
After this game, the Kings will have a long break before heading to the East Coast to face the Boston Celtics on Friday, January 10.
