The Miami Heat have a second chance to make the playoffs after losing the first play-in game to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, but Jimmy Butler can’t help them. After injuring his knee in the Heat’s 105-104 loss, Butler has done just that ruled out of Friday’s game against the Chicago Bulls with an MCL sprain.
According to Sham Charania of The Athletic, Butler is expected to miss several weeks with the injury.
Miami’s Jimmy Butler is expected to be out for several weeks, sources said. Butler remarkably played the final three quarters last night against the 76ers with what is now feared to be an MCL injury. https://t.co/dEDMAuuXuN
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 18, 2024
Butler’s injury happened in the final seconds of the first quarter. He landed hard on the ground after making a layup and lay there for several minutes in obvious pain.
Despite being in severe pain, he got up and shot two free throws. Then, despite an obvious lapse, Butler stayed in the game and played more than 39 minutes, the second most of any other Heat player. His 19 points were also the second-highest on the team.
Butler staying in the game felt like a good sign, but he was limping and only got worse as the game went on. Butler later said the injury “I felt like I couldn’t do too much.”
A camera caught him walking very, very slowly and with a limp out of the arena.
Butler underwent an MRI on Thursday, which revealed the MCL sprain. He has only been ruled out for Friday for the time being. Should the Heat advance past the Bulls to play the Boston Celtics in the first round, there should be more clarity on how much time he could miss.
