On Wednesday night, Jimmy Butler went toe-to-toe with his former teammate Joel Embiid as the Miami Heat battled the Philadelphia 76ers for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat came up one point shy of reaching overtime, losing to the Sixers 105-104.
It was an unfortunate outcome, but hope still existed, knowing that the Heat would get one more crack at earning the final playoff spot in the East as long as they could defeat the Chicago Bulls in Friday’s NBA Play-In matchup.
Yet, the one cloud hanging over the franchise was the status of Jimmy Butler’s injury. He reportedly initially suffered the MCL injury in the first quarter of the game but soldiered through the final three quarters anyway.
But now, according to Shams Charania, Butler is expected to miss multiple weeks of action as he recovers from his knee injury.
Obviously, this is a big blow to Miami’s playoff aspirations, losing their best two-way player just one day before their biggest matchup of the season. Even if they can emerge victorious in the win-or-go-home battle, who’s to say Miami has a chance against Boston, the top seed in the East and the team with the NBA’s best record?
While this is Miami we’re talking about, meaning Erik Spoelstra will have his team as prepared as any, going on without Jimmy Buckets will be no easy task.
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