Well, that’s not good now, is it? A day after the Miami Heat got drilled in the opening game of the 2024 NBA playoffs by the Celtics, the one glimmer of hope for a comeback—the possible return of Jimmy Butler from his knee injury—likely has been snuffed.
That’s because, as Shams Charania of The Athletic reports, Butler is not going to be back from the MCL injury he suffered last week at any point in the first round. The Heat, without Butler, lost, 114-94, on Sunday in Boston, in a game that was not even as close as its 20-point final score suggested.
The Celtics shot 47.6% in the game and 44.9% from the 3-point line. Miami never led in the game, and the Celtics built up a second-half lead of 34 points.
Little wonder the Heat were holding out hope for a Butler return.
Speaking on FanDuel TV, though, Charania said, “It’s crazy to me that Jimmy Butler played three quarters with, what I’m hearing, was a severe MCL sprain. He is not gonna be back in this series.”
“It’s crazy to me that Jimmy Butler played 3 quarters with what I’m hearing now was a severe MCL sprain. He is not going to be back in this series.”
@ShamsCharania updates on Jimmy Butler #HEATCulture #NBAPlayoffs
Jimmy Butler Played Through Serious Pain
Butler suffered the injury during last Wednesday’s play-in loss to the Sixers. Near the end of the first quarter, Butler leaked out for a fast-break opportunity and went up for a head fake as Kelly Oubre tried to recover on defense. Butler landed awkwardly after Oubre appeared to flail his knee out toward Butler.
Butler hit the floor immediately, clutching his knee. He went on to finish the game, but after starting with seven points on 2-for-4 shooting in the first quarter, Butler finished with 19 points on 5-for-18 shooting.
The Miami Heat beat the Bulls without Butler in the second East play-in, and while he won’t be back, he deserves a tip of the cap for finishing the Sixers loss.
“This is a rehab that is going to one month, at least, maybe two months of rehab,” Charania said. “This is something that Jimmy Butler is going to have to work on. It’s seriously remarkable to me that he played three quarters on this injury. They identified it, essentially, in the 12 hours after the game, they knew what he had suffered. Thankfully for him, it wasn’t an ACL, it wasn’t a meniscus.
“But even if the Heat were to advance in this first round, somehow, it still puts his postseason availability very much up in the air. But I think, again, I am still stunned, the more I hear about it, the more I think about it, that he played through that.”
Miami Heat Players Still ‘Believe’ vs. Celtics
Now, despite the showing against the Celtics on Sunday, all is not lost without Butler. The Heat have been rather accustomed to playing without its stars all season, having been without Butler for 22 games, and without Tyler Herro for 40 games. The team managed a 13-9 record even with Butler out, and was 23-17 without Herro.
Star center Bam Adebayo said the Heat expect to be taken lightly from here.
“They’re going to look at us and be like, `We can’t win because we don’t have Jimmy [Butler],”‘ Adebayo said, per SI.com. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to play the game. You’ve got to go out there and compete. …
“From that standpoint, we know we’re going into the game with people doubting us, people not believing in us. The guys in that locker room believe. As long as the guys in the locker room and the coaching staff believe, we always got a chance.”
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Insider Delivers Big Miami Heat Jimmy Butler Injury Update