Miami

Heat

With Haywood Highsmith sidelined, Martin will slide into the starting unit. He should be a solid scoring option for them in this game, as he has averaged 14 points per game over the past two weeks. Kevin Love should play the backup power forward minutes behind Martin.

Having exited Saturday’s loss to the Pacers early in the fourth quarter and not returning, Richardson has been given the all-clear to play against Toronto. He’ll get the minutes needed to offer value in deeper fantasy leagues, but Jaime Jaquez Jr. would be a better option for fantasy managers to target.

Herro, who has been sidelined since early November, still isn’t ready to return to game action. As for Highsmith, he injured his back during Saturday’s loss to the Pacers. Duncan Robinson will continue to serve as Herro’s replacement in the starting lineup, while Caleb Martin or Jaime Jaquez Jr. should receive the nod to fill in for Highsmith.

In a move that was a surprise to some, Robinson was the choice to replace the injured Bam Adebayo in the starting lineup, and not Thomas Bryant. And the move worked, as far as Robinson’s individual production is concerned. He scored 16 points on a solid shooting percentage, although the defensive stats (no steals or blocks) left something to be desired. As for Bryant, he was a DNP-CD, with Caleb Martin (18/2/3/1 with two 3-pointers) and Kevin Love (14/1/5 with three 3-pointers) playing 35 and 19 minutes, respectively. Adebayo won’t travel with the team to Wednesday’s game in Toronto, which could mean another start for Robinson. However, that’s no sure thing, so fantasy managers may be better off avoiding him and Bryant on what will be an 11-game night.

With Bam Adebayo (hip) ruled out and Kyle Lowry (4/8/2 in 29 minutes) missing all four of his shots from the field, Butler had to do a lot of the heavy lifting for the Heat on Saturday. Recording his fourth 30-point game of the season, this was Butler’s first with at least 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists. He’s been a top 25 player in 9-cat formats over the last week, and there’s the potential for Butler to be even better if Adebayo is out for an extended period. Bam won’t be with the team for Wednesday’s game in Toronto, and Josh Richardson injured his knee during the fourth quarter, so that may be a good opportunity to go all-in on Butler in fantasy.

Richardson injured his knee during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 144-129 defeat, exiting with a little over eight minutes remaining and not returning. In 24 minutes, the veteran wing amassed 16 points, two rebounds, three assists, one block, and two 3-pointers, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line. Should Richardson be sidelined for an extended period, Jamal Cain could pick up a few more minutes, but Jaime Jaquez Jr. would be the better play for fantasy managers.

Highsmith played three minutes before having to exit Saturday’s game and has since been ruled out. Kevin Love stepped in to fill the void, scoring 10 points and dishing out five assists in the first half. He’ll be the next man up if Highsmith isn’t available for Wednesday’s game against the Raptors.

So much for Thomas Bryant being the next man up. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is going with Robinson instead, giving the former Fresno State standout an opportunity to show what he can do. This also gives the 7-footer a shot at deep-league fantasy value. With Bam Adebayo already ruled out for Wednesday’s game in Toronto, the better performer between Robinson and Bryant would be worth rostering for Week 7.

Already ruled out for Saturday’s game against the Pacers, Adebayo will not travel for Wednesday’s game in Toronto. His next opportunity to play will be on December 8 at home against the Cavaliers. Thomas Bryant is worth streaming until Bam is cleared, as the entire league will only play two games that count toward fantasy basketball in Week 7.

Butler is available and will take on his usual role within the Heat starting lineup. However, with Bam Adebayo (hip) sidelined, the Heat will need even more from their star forward as far as facilitating is concerned.