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 game of a back-to-back.
The reason we're referring to the Heat's season as "downtrodden" is the huge fiasco going on between the team and their star forward Jimmy Butler – one that has sent their once-promising season into a tailspin.
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 heading into Monday night's contest.
Sacramento Kings Injury Report
After an unlucky start to the season on the injury front, the Kings have returned to their healthy ways (they were 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 on the injury report.
Unfortunately, that one player is also the team's best player: De'Aaron Fox. Fox missed last night's game against the Golden State Warriors after taking a hard fall against the Memphis Grizzlies.
While his injury status for tonight's game has yet to be formally updated, Fox carried the designation of doubtful heading into the Warriors' game before ultimately being ruled out. Normally, when a player is listed as doubtful, it means they have about a 25% chance of playing in the game. It seems unlikely that Fox's status improved that much in a single day where one would feel good about his chances of playing. So, he probably will not play in this game, either.
Miami Heat Injury Report
First things first, Butler will not be playing in this game, and it won't be because of injury. As many of you are aware, on Friday, the Heat suspended Butler for seven games, citing conduct detrimental to the team as the reason why. This will be the second of seven games for the Butler. The National Basketball Player's Association is filing grievances against the suspension. But, in the meantime, Butler will not 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 doubtful (heel).
After this game, the Kings will get a long break before traveling to the East Coast to play the Boston Celtics on Friday, January 10.