Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is expected to miss multiple weeks after suffering a knee injury in Wednesday’s Play-In Tournament loss against the Philadelphia 76ers, league sources said.
The Heat confirmed Thursday that Butler has an MCL sprain and will miss Friday’s Play-In elimination game against the Chicago Bulls.
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Butler went down and was slow to get up after being fouled on a play at the end of the first quarter of the Heat’s eventual 105-104 loss. He seemed to be in a good deal of pain and discomfort after taking a hit while leaking out for a layup in transition and colliding with Philadelphia’s Kelly Oubre Jr.
Butler limped to the bench but remained in the game, playing 40 minutes and scoring 19 points but shooting just 5 of 18 from the field. He also had five steals and five assists.
Butler said he would get an MRI on his knee Thursday, adding that he was extremely limited as the game continued. He took just two shots in the fourth quarter and came off the floor as the game was reduced to fouling and free throws.
“Honestly, I thought the adrenaline would kick back in, and I’d be able to move,” Butler said. “That just wasn’t the case. I wasn’t able to do anything on either side of the ball. And I think I hurt us more than I helped us.”
What is clear is that Butler’s diminishment is something the Heat offense cannot shoulder. Both Butler and shooting guard Tyler Herro led the team in points per game during the regular season (20.8), while Butler dished a team-high 5.0 assists per game.
Miami is already without sparkplug guard Terry Rozier, who has missed the last five games with a neck injury. Rozier averaged 16.4 points per game this season.
The Heat are hoping to advance to the playoffs and make another deep run like last year when they reached the NBA Finals from the Play-In Tournament, but fell to the Denver Nuggets in five games. Through 22 playoff games, Butler averaged 26.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists last summer.
“We will do this the hard way,” Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said. “That just has to be the path you know right now. Rest up. … We’re going to bring a hell of a game (in front of the) Friday night lights and do this the hard way.”
The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov and Eric Koreen contributed to this story.
Required reading
- Jimmy Butler’s knee injury exposes Miami Heat’s lackluster offense
- Miami Heat think they are ready to make another unlikely run: ‘It’ll be a show’
- NBA postseason coaching tiers: From Doc Rivers to Darvin Ham, what’s at stake in coming weeks?
(Photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
