Is Jimmy Butler playing tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers? | 2021-22 NBA season
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat will host the Cleveland Cavaliers at the FTX Arena on Wednesday night. The Heat have lost three of their last five games, including a defeat against the Denver Nuggets at home on Monday.
The Miami Heat are looking to get back to the NBA Finals, and are leaving no stone unturned in that pursuit. They are one of a handful of teams who are top ten in both offensive (fifth) and defensive (tenth) ratings this season. They have the fourth-best net rating in the league as well.
The Heat's new additions, Kyle Lowry and PJ Tucker, have been excellent, while Tyler Herro is lighting it up off the bench. Herro has emerged as a leading favorite for the Sixth Man of the Year award this season.
He is the second-highest scorer in the team with 21.8 points per game. Herro is averaging career-high numbers in every category across the board, including shooting efficiency, rebounds, steals and assists. He is 19th in the league in scoring, while no other player in the top 20 comes off the bench.
However, regardless of how incredibly the rest of the players are playing, the Miami Heat need Jimmy Butler to rack up wins. He is their Swiss Army knife who does anything it takes to win: from scoring and rebounding to defense and playmaking.
Butler is leading the team in scoring and steals, with 23.6 points and 2.1 steals per game, respectively. He is second in the Heat team in rebounding and assists, with 5.8 boards and 5.3 dimes a night, respectively.
Jimmy Butler’s (23.6 PPG, 2.1 SPG) strong start to the season has been full of buckets and hustle!
The #2 in East @MiamiHEAT host the Nuggets tonight at 7:30pm/et on NBA TV. https://t.co/EgTBV2KJQZ
Hence, the Miami faithful would want to know if their MVP would lace up tonight as the Heat seek to avoid another loss this week.
What is Jimmy Butler's status for tonight's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers?
Jimmy Butler is officially listed as questionable for this game due to a tail bone contusion.
He didn't play in the Miami Heat's last game against the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, which the Heat lost by nine points. Butler also missed three straight games two weeks ago, against the LA Clippers, Utah Jazz and the OKC Thunder.
#CLEvsMIA INJURY UPDATE: Tyler Herro (illness) is listed as probable to play in tonight's game vs the Cavs.
Jimmy Butler (tail bone), Dewayne Dedmon (knee) & Bam Adebayo (thumb) are all listed as questionable.
Markieff Morris (neck) has been ruled out.
Having lost three of their last five games, the Miami Heat are certainly not where they expected themselves to be at this stage of the season. Head coach Erik Spoelstra, speaking ahead of the game against the Nuggets, threw a sneak peek into the team's state and agenda moving forward. He said:
"We are where we are...I’m not going to give a grade. I’m not at all in that state right now to give an analysis of where we are. We’re just grinding. We’ve had these really good, tough, competitive experiences on the road...I think we’ve gotten better from these experiences, but we’ve got to prove it every game."
The Miami Heat are 13-8 through their first 21 games, and are third in the Eastern Conference right now.
When will Jimmy Butler return?
Jimmy Butler is listed as questionable, so there is always a possibility that he could lace up for tonight's game.
The Miami Heat are struggling to rack up wins lately, and Butler's absence could exacerbate matters. If he doesn't play tonight, he could also rest against the struggling Indiana Pacers before returning against reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.