Heat vs. Magic Wednesday NBA injury report, odds, props: Jimmy Butler out for Miami; Wendell Carter returns for Orlando

Sometimes a team can perform better over a long stretch without one of its top players because the ball is shared more or other players step up. The Orlando Magic will get Wendell Carter back from a long injury absence Wednesday night, yet they are 3-2 with Carter in the lineup this year and 13-7 without him. The Magic are 5-point home favorites on the SportsLine consensus against the Miami Heat, who are without All-Star guard Jimmy Butler.

I somewhat throw out those splits regarding Carter because you can't judge any team in its first five games of the season, which were the ones Carter played in. He has started 139 of 146 games for the Magic since joining the team in 2021 via trade from Chicago. This season, Carter is averaging 9.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.6 points per game. He has been out since Nov. 2 with a fractured finger.

Last season, the former lottery pick put up 15.2 points on 52.5% shooting along with 8.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. If that version of Carter returns, the Magic (16-9) might be legitimate Eastern Conference contenders. They're currently in fourth place after not winning more than 34 games in any of the previous three seasons. The Magic are massive +25000 longshots to earn the East's top seed with Boston the clear favorite at -245. Orlando is coming off back-to-back blowout losses at the Celtics last Friday and Sunday.

Second-year coach Jamahl Mosley is currently a +350 third favorite to win Coach of the Year behind Minnesota's Chris Finch (+250) and Oklahoma City's Mark Daigneault (+300).

It will be interesting to see whether Mosley puts Carter right back into the  lineup or if he sticks with what's been working and keeps Goga Bitadze with the starting five. Bitadze is not near the player Carter is, but sometimes that doesn't matter. There are no props available on Carter yet -- the sportsbooks are probably holding off to see if his minutes will be limited or he does come off the bench, so we may not get any.

NBA players hate one-game trips in the middle of a home-heavy schedule and that's what this is for the Heat, who finished a four-game homestand with a 112-108 loss to Minnesota on Monday and return home for two more games starting Friday. I wonder if this is why Butler is getting the night off, although he's being officially classified with a calf strain. He looked fine Monday in 35 minutes of action with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Fellow starters Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo returned from long injury absences Monday and combined for 47 points for the Heat. Herro suited up after missing 18 games with a sprained right ankle, while Adebayo had missed most of Miami's previous seven games with a bruised left hip. They will both play Wednesday and both are set at over/under 22.5 points. Point guard Kyle Lowry, who sat for rest on Monday, will also play. Forward Kevin Love (9.6 PPG, 6.9 rebounds per game) will not play with an illness.

This is the first meeting of the season between the teams. Miami won three of four last season, but the Magic are leaps and bounds better this year. 

Incidentally, the Magic's arena name was changed this morning to Kia Center, a change that ends the building's 13-year run as the Amway Center. The transition to the new name had been underway for some time.

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