Jimmy Butler has been on a historic run for the Miami Heat.
That’s why the team and the fans sounded the alarms when he fell late in the fourth quarter of Game 1 versus the New York Knicks.
Butler was wriggling and in clear pain and needed some time to get back up after falling onto the Madison Square Garden hardwood.
Now, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that he’s going to try and play through the injury, adding that the ankle sprain wasn’t as bad as it seemed at first.
“I’m told Jimmy Butler wants to play, I think he’s gonna try to play as today goes on… That sprain wasn’t as serious as we all saw – we’ll learn more in the coming hours”@ShamsCharania with the latest on Jimmy Butler’s injured ankle#HEATCulture | #RunItBack pic.twitter.com/qLDI2MMIYZ
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) May 2, 2023
Butler was eventually able to stay on the court and finish the game, but the discomfort was evident.
The Heat sealed another epic comeback by taking down the Knicks on the road, stealing home-court advantage again after handling the Milwaukee Bucks in just five games.
More impressively, they did it all without Tyler Herro, who’ll remain out for the next couple of weeks as he nurses a fractured hand.
That’s yet another reason why Erik Spoelstra’s team simply cannot afford to take the floor without Butler, especially if Julius Randle is able to return to the floor for Game 2 of the series.
The Heat had to go through the play-in tournament and barely made it to the playoffs.
Now, they’re up 1-0 in the Eastern Conference semis and control their own destiny to keep moving forward to the ECF.
Most of that is thanks to Jimmy Buckets, so let’s hope this is nothing serious and he’s back on the floor in no time.
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