Miami star Jimmy Butler injures his knee and remains questionable for clash vs. Chicago

In Miami‘s Play-in loss against Philadelphia this Wednesday, team star Jimmy Butler suffered a right MCL injury in the first half. According to insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the player is expected to miss several weeks because of this, but the Heat remain expectant to see the MRI results before confirming the situation. 

What’s more important is the team’s clash against Chicago this Friday night, as they will host their rivals in South Beach for a chance to make the NBA Playoffs. Whoever wins, will face none other than the NBA-best Celtics in the first round of postseason.

Butler was hurt late in the first quarter as he attempted to fake out Kelly Oubre Jr. on a bucket, but instead buckled his knee and fell on the ground. His Sixers opponents then seemed to land on the Heat guard.

The expectation is Jimmy Butler will be out for multiple weeks with what is feared to be an MCL injury, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/SJId33jAoM

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 18, 2024

“I fell, he landed and my knee just didn’t do well, I guess,” Jimmy told the press after the game was over. “I don’t know. It’s not a good feeling, I can tell you that.” The player got up and sank the free throw awarded to him, but them missed the second one.

The veteran kept on playing and dropped a total of 19 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Philly in their 105-104 victory. “We just need to get one and then we’ll worry about the next one,” Butler insisted. “It felt like I couldn’t do too much, which sucks with the timing of the game and everything. I hope that I’m fine. I hope that I wake up tomorrow and can still stick-and-move. Right now, I can’t stay that’s the case.”

The Miami guard hit 5 out of 18 attempts from the floor, but was only able to score two points in the final quarter. “It just wasn’t the case,” he said. “I wasn’t able to do anything on either side of the ball. I think I hurt us more than I helped us actually.”

Jimmy, who led the South Beach franchise to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, has produced averages of 20.8 points per match in 60 games so far this campaign. The 34-year-old later revealed that he remained in the game last night because he believed the “adrenaline would kick back in.”

76ers set to face Knicks in first round of NBA Playoffs after defeating the Heat

It has been 35 long years since the last time that the 76ers clashed with the Knicks in the NBA Playoffs, as the Philadelphia club is set for this first-round matchup after defeating the Heat this Wednesday in a tight 105-104 victory. The Sixers rallied back from a 14-point deficit inspired by reigning MVP Joel Embiid, you had first been listed as questionable that same morning.

Now, they are set to face their New York rivals this Saturday at Madison Square Garden. “I think they’re for real,” said coach Nick Nurse about their weekend opponents. “I think they’re really good. I think they’re fast. I think they can shoot. I think they hit the glass. They can guard you.”

“I think they’ve earned that [second] seed. They’ve played really well and beaten a lot of good teams. So we have our work to do these next couple of days to get ready for them.”

The 76ers big man ended up dropping 23 points and winning 15 rebounds that night, despite many believing he wouldn’t be fit to play due to maintenance on the knee injury that sidelined him for over two months back in January. “See you in New York,” Joel said as he left the locker room last night.