Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler returned to the lineup on Saturday after a four-game absence due to a strained left calf. Unfortunately, Butler's return was short-lived.

After playing 23 minutes, Butler left Miami's loss to the Utah Jazz due to a right foot injury. Postgame x-rays were negative. Butler's status is unknown at this point. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he had no update when asked postgame.

Prior to the calf injury, Butler had played in 19 of Miami's first 23 games.

Goran Dragic has announced his retirement from basketball. Dragic will play a farewell game in Slovenia later this season and then will call it a career.

Over 15 NBA seasons, Dragic played in 946 regular season games. He appeared in an additional 62 playoff games, over seven different postseason runs.

Dragic retires holding career averages of 13.3 points and 4.7 assists per game. He finished as a 45.9% shooter overall, including 36.2% on three-pointers.

Dragic began his NBA career with the Phoenix Suns in the 2008-09 season. In addition to two separate stints with the Suns, Dragic also played for the Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks.

The 6-foot-3 has also played for his native Slovenia over several different international competitions. In 2017, Dragic helped lead Slovenia to the EuroBasket title. He scored 35 points in the victory over Serbia in the final game.

The Christmas Day game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics averaged 5 million viewers, representing an 18% decline from last year's window. Despite the decline, it was the most watched game of the season thus far. 

At least four out of the five games saw a decline from last year, with figures not available for the Warriors-Nuggets matchup.

The opening game between the Bucks and Knicks averaged 2.49 million viewers, down 39% from the Sixers-Knicks last year.

The Mavs-Suns game was down 42% with 1.47 million viewers, with the Sixers-Heat down 73% with 1.3 million viewers.

All three NFL games on Monday averaged more than 27 million viewers. 

The Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks have a "healthy level of admiration" for PJ Tucker, sources told Marc Stein of Substack.

Tucker, who was traded to the Clippers as part of the James Harden deal, has not played since November 27.

Tucker is making $11 million this season and has one more guaranteed year. 

Miami Heat wing Jimmy Butler will miss his team's Christmas night matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers. Butler is dealing with a calf strain that has already cost him the last two games for the Miami Heat.

The Christmas night game will also be without Joel Embiid. The reigning MVP is recovering from a sprained ankle suffered on Friday against the Toronto Raptors.

The Miami Heat will retire Udonis Haslem's No. 40 jersey in a ceremony on January 19.

Haslem will become the sixth player in franchise history with the distinction.

The 43-year-old spent his entire 20-year career with the Heat, winning 3 NBA titles.

"It's about a great legacy, a Thank You moment that has been earned over 20 years of being an incredible championship player and most importantly, the best leader," said Heat president Pat Riley in a news release. 

Erik Spoelstra cautioned that no one should read into Bam Adebayo accompanying the team on their current road trip. Spoelstra stressed that there is no timetable for when Adebayo will return from the hip injury he's dealing with.

"I wouldn't read too much into it of him being on this trip other than he really wanted to be here and he can do his work. So, it's good," Spoelstra said.

Adebayo has missed Miami's last four games and five out of the Heat's last seven contests. This is the second time the Heat's All-Star center has dealt with hip soreness. The first time was last March. Adebayo didn't miss any games, but was noted on the injury report several times.

Chet Holmgren and Jamie Jaquez Jr. have been named the NBA's Rookie of the Month for October/November.

Holmren averaged 17.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Jaquez averaged 12.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Miami Heat. 

Orlando Robinson's contract became guaranteed for $850,000 on Friday, reported Keith Smith of Spotrac.

Robinson has appeared in five games this season, averaging 5.4 points and 3.8 rebounds.

Robinson went undrafted during the 2022 draft and joined the team on a two-way deal later in the season.