Jimmy Butler missed the Miami Heat‘s series opening 114-94 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday. The six-time All-Star remains sidelined with a right MCL sprain, which he suffered in the first quarter of the team’s 105-104 play-in tournament loss to the Philadelphia 76ers last Wednesday. It marked his second consecutive game missed as he was also sidelined for Miami’s 112-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls in their second play-in tournament game.
Speaking on the Run It Back podcast, Shams Charania provided an update on the status of Butler, who did not leave the game despite the injury, stating:
It’s crazy to me that Jimmy Butler played three quarters with what I’m hearing now was a severe MCL sprain. He is not going to be back in this series. This is a rehab that’s going to go at least one month. It could be two months of rehab. This is something that Jimmy Butler’s going to have to work on. It’s seriously remarkable to me that he played three quarters on this injury.
They identified it, essentially, in the 12 hours after the game. They knew what he had suffered. Thankfully for him, it wasn’t the ACL, it wasn’t a meniscus, but even if the Heat were to advance in this first round, somehow, it’s still very – his postseason availability – still very much in the air.
Check out Shams Charania’s full comments on Jimmy Butler’s status below:
While the Heat were able to win a play-in tournament game without Butler, they looked severely outmatched by the Celtics on Sunday. Miami trailed by as many as 34 points and never led or tied the game after falling into a 14-0 early hole that they were never able to recover from.
The absence of Butler, who is their best perimeter defender and led the team in scoring, will likely prevent the team from making another deep postseason run. He averaged 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.3 blocks per game during the regular season while shooting 49.9% from the field, 41.4% from three-point range and 85.8% from the free-throw line.
What did Jimmy Butler say after playing three quarters with an MCL sprain?
While Jimmy Butler suffered an MCL sprain in the first quarter of the Miami Heat’s play-in tournament loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, he remained in the game, playing a total of 39:39. Following the game, Butler discussed his injury with reporters, stating:
Honestly, I thought the adrenaline would kick back in and I’d be able to move and it 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, actually. [h/t South Florida Sun Sentinel]
After scoring seven points on 2-4 shooting in the first quarter, he added just five points, shooting 3-14, the remainder of the game. It is unclear if his decision to remain on the court increased the severity of the injury. It appears that Butler’s season is over, barring Miami making a deep postseason run.
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