Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler will not play in the first round of the playoffs due to a sprained right knee, according to Shams Charania. Butler suffered the injury in the Heat’s Play-In Tournament loss to the Atlanta Hawks last Wednesday and has not played since.
The Heat have not provided an official timeline for Butler’s return but have announced that he has a sprained MCL. While the team was able to beat the Hawks without him in the second round of the Play-In Tournament, their 20-point defeat to the Boston Celtics in Game 1 was a clear indication of how much he means to this team.
Late in the first quarter of the Heat’s loss to the Sixers, Butler pump-faked up into the air, and Kelly Oubre landed right on top of him. Butler crumpled to the floor in obvious pain while Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley looked on with concern. While Butler remained in the game, the Heat were unable to hold on, and Butler later told Oubre on Instagram that they would be “throwing hands.”
Butler averaged 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and five assists per game this season while shooting 49.9% from the field. He has been one of the most clutch playoff performers in recent years. With Butler leading the way, the Heat have been to at least the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the last four seasons and made two NBA Finals appearances.
Even with Butler, the Heat would have been underdogs against an improved Celtics team that rolled through the regular season with a 64-18 record, but Butler’s presence would have at least given the Heat a chance to make things interesting. After all, they weren’t expected to beat the Celtics last season either.
Without him, though, they don’t have much of a chance. They never led in Game 1 and trailed by double digits for nearly the entire game, with the deficit ballooning up to 34 points in the third quarter. The ensuing games may be more competitive, but the Heat simply don’t have enough firepower to keep up with the Celtics.
