Is Jimmy Butler playing tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers? | 2021-22 NBA season
The Miami Heat are getting prepared for tonight's game against the Philadelphia 76ers in a showdown between two of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference. After making some noise in the early portion of the 2021-22 NBA regular season, the Miami Heat have started to struggle when it comes to their play as of late.
One of the main reasons has been injuries, as the team has been dealing with a number of key players in the rotation finding their way on the sidelines, including star big man Bam Adebayo.
Bam Adebayo (thumb surgery), Jimmy Butler (tailbone) are both out for the Heat, as are Markieff Morris (neck), Caleb Martin (protocols) and Victor Oladipo (yet to play, knee surgery).
Tyler Herro is questionable with a quad contusion.
As of now, the Heat find themselves with an overall record of 16-12 this season and have gone on to win just four of their last 10 games. Miami currently sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings, just one game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers. It's safe to say that the importance of tonight's game cannot be understated when it comes to potential seeding in the East.
With Adebayo expected to be out for an extended period of time, that means that the Miami Heat are going to need to lean on some of their other players. One of those players is star wing Jimmy Butler. While the versatile wing is on the floor, he's been absolutely sensational for the Heat this season. So far this year, Butler is averaging 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 50.9% from the field.
What is Jimmy Butler's status for tonight's game against the Philadelphia 76ers?
Miami Heat star wing Jimmy Butler has been ruled out for tonight's game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Butler has been dealing with a bruised tailbone and this will be the fourth straight game the versatile wing has missed for the Heat as of late.
After making some noise at the beginning of the year as one of the most dangerous teams in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat have quickly had to face some adversity when it comes to injuries piling up.
Marcus Garrett is expected to play as a rotation player tonight vs. 76ers. Heat down to 10: Dedmon, Tucker, Robinson, Vincent, Lowry, Strus, Okpala, Yurtseven, Garrett, Haslem. twitter.com/iraheatbeat/st…
There's no doubt that when this team is healthy, they can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the league. The problem is that the Heat have found a bit of an "injury bug" at the worst time.
With Bam Adebayo already expected to be on the sidelines for the next couple of weeks, the hope is that Jimmy Butler can carry the load and keep the Heat on the right track for now. Unfortunately Butler has been dealing with an injury and has missed seven of the last eight games for the Heat.
After tonight's game against the 76ers, the Heat will head to Orlando to face the Magic this Friday before a matchup this weekend against the Detroit Pistons.