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After former Philadelphia 76ers wing Jimmy Butler helped the Miami Heat win Game 4 of their first-round matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, Joel Embiid singled out Butler following his performance.
“PLAYOFF MF HIMMY BUTLER,” Embiid said, via his personal Twitter.
Butler put up 56 points on the night, which is a franchise record for the Miami Heat, meaning that he scored more in a playoff game for the Heat than the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Shaquille O’Neal, among others.
With the victory, the Heat, who came into the NBA playoffs as the no. 8 seed, now have a 3-1 lead over the Bucks heading back to Milwaukee.
The Heat and the Sixers could potentially meet up in the playoffs, but for that to happen, they would both have to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. While the Sixers have already advanced to the Eastern Conference semis, the Heat still need one more win to make it to the next round.
Other current and former Sixers reacted to Butler’s performance, including Tyrese Maxey and JJ Redick.
Shams Charania Gives Optimistic Update on Joel Embiid
After Embiid missed the Sixers’ series-clinching win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 4, there was uncertainty surrounding when the all-star center would come back.
NBA Insider Shams Charania of The Athletic gave a positive update that the Sixers were hopeful that Embiid would be back for Game 1 of their upcoming series.
“There is optimism that he’ll be able to play in Game 1 of their next series against Boston, I assume, or Atlanta,” Charania said on FanDuel TV. “He had a sprained knee, and I think they believe this is about a one-week injury. Assuming the playoffs start this upcoming weekend, the hope is that Joel Embiid will be in the lineup. He went down a few times in that Nets Game 3, but thankfully, it wasn’t anything major.”
Embiid has a long history of playing in the postseason while injured, so if and when he comes back, the question is, how much will this new injury affect his play on the court?
Ramona Shelburne Gives Lengthy Update on Joel Embiid
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne gave an update of her own on where Embiid is health-wise, saying that he could come back in Game 1 of their next series, but her update was not as optimistic as Charania.
“When he first went down with his injury, the sense is that it was going to be one, maybe two weeks, depending on how he feels,” Shelburne said. “Now he’s going to be re-evaluated in the middle of this week, but the injury happens on April 20, and the second round starts on April 29. That’s right in that window where he could come back in time.”
Shelburne also questioned what kind of player Embiid will be when he returns to the floor.
“What kind of Joel Embiid are we going to see? Joel Embiid with a knee injury, with a big ol’ brace, we’ve seen him play like that. That’s not what anyone in Philadelphia was hoping for when you went into the (post-)season after the kind of year he’s had.”
Shelburne finished by saying that it will all depend on how he feels as the week’s gone on.
“It’ll depend on what happens in his evaluation this week. I’m told he’s doing better. Like he’s moving around better. The swelling has subsided, but when he gets in there with the doctors to see how he feels, you’re not going to push it with something like that. In terms of the severity of this, it’s something he can come back from, but an LCL is an LCL.”
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