Jimmy Butler is currenlty serving his second team suspension of the season as he tries to force a trade out of Miami. The Heat went 3–4 during Butler's first suspension and were just 1–2 in the three games he played in before missing a team flight.

The reason for Larsson starting partly had to do with the Heat suspending Butler for the second time, this one lasting two games as instead of Haywood Highsmith or Nikola Jovic, Spoelstra gave the nod to the 23-year-old. The long-time head coach will continue to see where Larsson can impact the team.

With his seven-game suspension over, Jimmy Butler returned to the Heat's starting lineup Friday night against the Nuggets and addressed his future plans with a short statement: "I'm back."