Jimmy Butler injury update: Probable return timeline for Heat star following MCL injury
The Play-In Tournament game between the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night was so intense that it injured All-Star Jimmy Butler. During the final seconds of the second quarter of the game, Butler was fouled by Kelly Oubre Jr. The Sixers forward landed on Butler's lower body, causing his knee to get injured.
Butler stayed in the game and played through his injury. However, he was seen limping as the Heat left the Sixers arena last night after a 105-104 defeat. It was later discovered that the star player had suffered an MCL sprain. Miami's season seems over at this point, as the star forward is its go-to guy on the court.
According to reports, the Heat have listed Butler as out for Friday night's play-in game against the Chicago Bulls. The more pressing concern right now is the amount of time that the forward will miss. Per AP, the six-time All-Star will miss "several weeks" due to the sprain. Per the report, the ligament sprain usually takes "four weeks or more" to heal.
With his injury, many are counting out the Heat from participating in the postseason. There is still a slight chance for Miami to join the top eight teams in the playoffs. The Bulls aren't the healthiest squad either, as Alex Caruso suffered a "significant" right foot sprain after bumping into teammate Andre Drummond on the court.
As for the Heat, there's nothing they can do but hope other players can take over for their next matchup. Aside from Butler, Terry Rozier continues to be out as he deals with a neck injury.
Jimmy Butler's injury affected his performance last night
In the Heat vs. Sixers play-in game, the two teams were neck-and-neck, especially in the fourth period. However, it was obvious that Jimmy Butler was struggling through injury. He only made five field goals last night against Philly and finished with 19 points.
Although he made it up on the defensive end with his five steals, it wasn't enough. After the game, Butler shared that the injury affected his game.
"It had me feeling that I couldn't do too much," Butler said.
The Heat are still optimistic about getting to the postseason even without their best player. However, if they make it to the first round of the playoffs, they will face the top-seeded Boston Celtics.
Jimmy Butler's comment on Instagram calling out Oubre
Heat fans are upset that their best player won't be playing in tomorrow's play-in game. Although they've tried their best not to blame Oubre, they couldn't help it if Jimmy Butler himself pointed his finger at the Sixers forward. As the team updated the fans about Butler's injury on Instagram, he took the chance to call out the forward.
Miami posted Butler's injury status on Instagram, and Butler added something that fans could look forward to once the team goes up against Philly.
"@kellyoubrejr we throwing hands," Butler commented on Instagram.
The two teams might not play against each other any time soon. With the Heat's season on the line, there's a chance they will next square off in the 2024-25 season.