Hornets – Heat Injury Update: LaMelo Ball and Jimmy Butler – IN or OUT for Saturday’s game?

Hornets - Heat Injury Update: LaMelo Ball and Jimmy Butler - IN or OUT for Saturday's game?

On Saturday night, the Charlotte Hornets will take on the Miami Heat. Do we expect to see Lamelo Ball and Jimmy Butler in tonight’s game? Scroll down for a better look.

The latest report for Charlotte Hornet and Miami Heat Injury

Both sides have injured players listed on their injury reports for tonight’s game. In other words, who are they?

Charlotte Hornet Report:

PLAYER UPDATED INJURY
INJURY STATUS
Theo Maledon Feb 25 Ankle
Game Time Decision
Cody Martin Feb 23 Knee
Expected to be out until at least Feb 27
  • Theo Maledon

On Friday, Maledon injured his ankle and was unable to play as Maine defeated them 120-106.

On Friday, Maledon and two other Swarm members were sidelined with a left ankle strain and did not participate.

In 14 games this season, Maledon is averaging 14.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

  • Cody Martin

Martin will not play on Saturday against the Heat due to a knee injury.

It is still entirely unknown when Martin might return to game action, given he has only participated in seven games this season, six of which came in the middle of January.

Due to the back-to-back nature of the Hornets’ schedule immediately following the All-Star break, Martin is highly unlikely to play in Saturday’s game against the Heat.

If Charlotte loses this weekend, they will only have 20 games left in the season, making it look like a losing cause for the 27-year-old.

How about LaMelo Ball?

The game versus the Heat tonight will feature LaMelo Ball, who will be playing.

(Source: Wikipedia)

On Friday, Ball helped the Celtics beat the Timberwolves 121-113 with 32 points (11-21 FG, 5-9 3Pt, 5-5 FT), 10 rebounds, eight assists, and two steals in 40 minutes.

In the Friday night victory over Minnesota, Ball scored 32 points, the most of any player. Coming off the All-Star break, the rookie guard added to his string of five consecutive double-doubles.

Thus far in the month of February, he has excelled, posting better-than-average marks in four key categories: field goal percentage (44.3), assists (8.8), rebounds (8.4), and steals (1.4). (1.9).

Miami Heat Report

PLAYER UPDATED INJURY
INJURY STATUS
Omer Yurtseven Feb 23 Ankle
Expected to be out until at least Feb 25
Nikola Jovic Feb 23 Back
Expected to be out until at least Feb 25
Kyle Lowry Feb 19 Knee
Expected to be out until at least Feb 27
  • Omer Yurtseven 

Saturday’s game against the Hornets will be Yurtseven’s last due to an ankle injury.

With left ankle surgery as the reason, Yurtseven has been sidelined all season.
There is no set date for the second-year center’s return, but the Heat hope he can play again soon.

In the frontcourt, Yurtseven is in competition for available minutes with Cody Zeller, Kevin Love, and Orlando Robinson.

  • Nikola Jovic

On Saturday, Jovic will not play against the Hornets because of a back injury.

The Heat announced in early January that the 19-year-old Jovic would be out for an extended period of time owing to a lower-back stress response, which has prevented him from playing since December 26.

He will miss the team’s first game back from the All-Star break and his return date is uncertain.

According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, head coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday that Lowry (knee) would be out indefinitely.

Before the All-Star break, Lowry had missed six games in a row due to knee problems, and it looks like he’ll be out for a few more games after the break as well.

It is unclear what will happen with the veteran point guard after Thursday’s practice, which Winderman reports Lowry left without commenting on despite repeated inquiries. As Lowry will be gone for a while, Gabe Vincent is likely to gain the most.

Is Jimmy Butler running tonigt?

He is prepared for the game between the Hornets and the Heat that will take place on Saturday evening.