Jimmy Butler (calf) will not be able to play in the Heat’s Christmas game against the 76ers.

Jimmy Butler (calf) will not be able to play in the Heat’s Christmas game against the 76ers.

Joel Embiid, the current NBA MVP, and Jimmy Butler, a star player for the Miami Heat, both missed Monday night’s Christmas game towards the Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia because they hurt their calves.

Butler had been hurt the last two games and couldn’t play Monday afternoon. Haywood Highsmith (a non-COVID sickness) along with Josh Richardson (back spasms) were also ruled out.

After spraining his ankle in Friday’s success over the Toronto Raptors, Embiid was already called out for Saturday. He will join Nicolas Batum (hamstring) upon the bench for Philadelphia.

Instead, Paul Reed and Kelly Oubre are likely to start. Miami is likely to use the same starting five players as the last two games: Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, youngster Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Bam Adebayo.

Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler will not be able to play in the upcoming game between the Philadelphia 76ers or the Miami Heat.
NBA MVP-winner Joel Embiid will miss the game because he hurt his right ankle. This is his fourth lost game this season.

The 76ers, who are third to the Eastern Conference right now, will miss Embiid, especially since he was in such great shape in December, scoring 40.2 points and 12.6 blocks per game.

The Heat will also be without Jimmy Butler, who has a strained leg and will not play. Butler has now missed an Heat’s last match and won’t be able to play in the Christmas game either.

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Toronto Raptors on Friday, and Joel Embiid hurt an ankle while trying to block a shot to the first quarter. Even though they lost, Embiid showed he was tough by scoring 20 points within the second half.

With a 20-8 record, the Sixers looked at Embiid’s health over the weekend and decided that he shouldn’t play during their Christmas game against the Heat. There is a chance he will be able to play against the Magic of Orlando on Wednesday.

With a strained left leg, Jimmy Butler, a forward for the Miami Heat, will not be able to play Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Heat are now the only one of those four teams that has a good record.

Butler will miss his third straight game. He didn’t play in Wednesday’s 115-106 win over the Orlando Magic or Friday’s 122-113 won over the Atlanta Hawks.

This season, Butler has played within 23 of the Heat’s 29 games and has averaged 21.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists.

Forward Haywood Highsmith (non-COVID sickness) and wing Josh Richardson (back spasms) were also ruled out for the night game on Monday afternoon.

The Heat have missed the fourth-most games to the NBA this season because of injuries, according to the Miami Herald.

Only the Memphis Grizzlies, Charlotte Hornets, as well as Detroit Pistons have missed more games.

The 76ers couldn’t use Joel Embiid, who is the current NBA MVP, because he hurt his right ankle. He did not fly on behalf of the Sixers to Miami on Sunday.

When the Sixers beat Toronto on Friday, Embiid got hurt. Nicolas Batum can’t play either because he hurt his leg.

The Heat also ruled out Jimmy Butler on Monday afternoon (he had missed the last two games for a calf strain), Haywood Highsmith (it was not COVID) and Josh Richardson (back cramps).

Embiid and Batum will likely be replaced by Paul Reed and Kelly Oubre. Miami will likely start Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, youngster Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Bam Adebayo, the same five players they used in the last two games.

The 76ers are third in the Eastern Conference and fourth in the NBA with a 20-8 record going into Monday’s game.

Embiid will miss his fourth game this season. He has been on a roll in December, averaging 40.2 points, 12.6 boards, and 61% shooting in nine games to date.