Jimmy Butler’s injury scare results in defeat to Sixers

Jimmy Butler is the key that the Miami Heat needs to unlock their championship chest. The forward could be fulfilling his “side quests” throughout the season but come the post-season he becomes a competitive freak. However, the story might be a little different this year for the Miami side as their star forward picked up an injury in the play-in game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

With some time left in the opening quarter, Butler received a pass from the far court. On reaching closer to the rim, he fake-pumped to avoid getting blocked by Sixers’ Kelly Oubre Jr. After Kelly jumped, Butler tried a layup, but the ball did not make its way through the basket and came out hitting the rim.

It wasn’t just the bucket that he missed, the 6-time All-Star fell on the floor holding his left knee which was a moment of immense agony for the 34-year-old.

Despite the pain, Butler did not leave the court and continued to play with a limp. Even after putting in such effort and scoring 19 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals, his team faced a narrow 104-105 loss.

Although the Heat does have an opportunity to bring themselves back into play-off action depending on their result against the Chicago Bulls, they might have to do it without their superstar, Jimmy Butler.

Heat to face Bulls potentially without Jimmy Butler

When asked about his injury in the post-game interview, Jimmy Butler informed that he has to go through an MRI on Thursday to ascertain his participation in the post-game tournament. As per Shams Charania of ‘The Athletic’, Butler could reportedly have an MCL injury which could exclude him from the roster for an unknown timeline.

The speculation can only be confirmed once the MRI reports arrive but with Jimmy’s absence, Miami will have a tough time against the Bulls on Friday in the Eastern Conference play-ins.