Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler has been making headlines lately. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra had to clear the air on rumors that Butler wants a trade out of Miami, and the 35-year-old has also been sidelined for each of the team’s past four contests thanks to an illness.

On Saturday, Five Reasons Sports revealed the timeline for Butler’s expected return to the court. Allegedly, he is slated to return to the lineup when the Heat take on the New Orleans Pelicans at Kaseya Center on Jan. 1.

So far, Miami has been able to hold down the fort without Butler. The team owns a record of 2-2 since he’s been sidelined with wins coming over the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets during that span.

Most recently, the Heat earned a one-point win over the Magic on Dec. 26 behind an impressive team-wide defensive showing. Miami held Orlando to just 88 points on 44.2 percent shooting from the field and 5-of-29 from 3-point range, which equates to a 17.2 percent clip.

Stingy defense has been the key to the Heat’s success sans Butler, as in their other recent win without him, Miami held the Nets to 95 points on 39.3 percent shooting from the floor.

For as great as Miami’s defense has been of late, the play of Tyler Herro on offense has arguably been just as key. Due to these two factors, the Heat have been able to keep pace in the Eastern Conference standings.

He has scored 20-plus points in three of the Heat’s past four contests and is averaging a career-high 23.8 points per game thus far in the 2024-25 regular season.

Considering Butler will reportedly be sidelined until early next month, fans of the Heat should expect the team to rely heavily on Herro to put the ball through the hoop once again when Miami plays the Houston Rockets on Sunday. The Rockets have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this campaign, as they have a record of 21-10 and are the No. 3 seed in the West behind the Memphis Grizzlies.