Getty Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat.
The Miami Heat released their injury report, Monday afternoon, for Tuesday’s Game 2 against the New York Knicks. Amongst those listed was star forward Jimmy Butler, who is questionable to play with a sprained right ankle.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t have much of an update for reporters on May 1, explaining that the injury was “the same as last night.”
“He’s doing treatment around the clock,” Spoelstra said via ESPN’s Andrew Lopez. “Probably won’t have any update until before the game.”
Butler twisted his ankle with just over five minutes to play in Sunday’s Game 1 victory at Madison Square Garden.
Jimmy Butler is down after rolling his ankle on this play
“No idea,” Spoelstra said of Butler’s status following the Game 1 win, via Bally Sports Sun. “You just don’t know with ankle sprains. I don’t even know if we’ll know more by tomorrow. We’ll just have to see — it’ll be a waiting game. But he did not want to come out of the game so we left him in there.”
After going down, the Heat star remained in the game, but was clearly in pain. He mostly stood in the corner on offense and the Knicks weren’t smart enough to force him to engage on the defensive end.
Despite the injury, Butler finished the day with 25 points, to lead Miami. He shot 8-of-16 from the field, once again proving to be steady when the lights were bright.
The six-time All-Star didn’t have much to say of the ailment during his walk-off interview with ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth, other than that it felt “like a rolled ankle.”
Cassidy Hubbarth: “How’s [the ankle] feeling?
Jimmy Butler: “Like a rolled ankle.” 😅
Heat’s Jimmy Butler Shares Photo of Himself Walking on Injured Ankle
Though none of the updates surrounding Butler’s ankle have been groundbreaking, there’s certainly reason to be optimistic that he’ll play in Game 2.
The 33-year-old posted a photo of himself walking through the streets of New York City to his Instagram story on Monday.
Jimmy Butler posted a picture of himself walking in New York City on his IG story after injuring his ankle in Game 1 👀
In the picture, there doesn’t appear to be anything abnormal about his ankle. Either Butler shared an old picture, or that ankle has healed up quickly.
According to “The New York Daily News'” Kristian Winfield, Butler’s ankle “was swollen to about the size of a baseball” after Game 1.
Not gonna take a photo but Jimmy Butler’s ankle is swollen to about the size of a baseball. He just had his ankle taped. That’s gonna be painful in the morning.
Jimmy Butler’s Toughness Inspired Heat Teammates vs. Knicks
Butler’s decision to fight through pain and stay on the floor for the end of Sunday’s matinee inspired his Heat teammates to see the win through. Spoelstra called the veteran’s toughness “inspiring” to the rest of the squad, and explained that it gave the guys a confidence boost.
“This group has been through a lot… and we’re not being insensitive to when guys get nicked up or get hurt, but our group has learned to compartmentalize and focus on the task at hand…” Spoelstra told reporters on Sunday afternoon. “We’ve had probably more practice than anybody else in having to step up when guys get hurt, but that certainly is inspiring that he would not come out of the game and to be able to finish the game. Just infused a bunch of confidence to the rest of the guys that we have to finish this off.”
Butler has been nothing short of spectacular during the playoffs so far. He’s willed the Heat to this point, averaging 35.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists through the first six games. He’s been efficient in his attack, knocking down 58.5% of his attempts from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc.