The Miami Heat did their job in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks. They won that NBA playoff game, stealing home court advantage right off the bat. However, that win didn’t come without some losses.
With just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Jimmy Butler suffered an ankle sprain while driving to the basket. He was able to stay in and finish off the win, but it was clear that he was hurting as he didn’t do much while on the court. Offensively he stood in the corner and on defense he avoided the action as much as possible.
Butler is as tough as they come, so there was some hope that he would be able to suit up in Game 2. Ultimately, the team decided to hold him out, which was likely the right decision. They were up in the series and because of a scheduling quirk, sitting out Game 2 would give Butler five full days off with Game 1 being on Sunday and Game 3 not until the following Saturday.
Heading into Game 3 this weekend, there is some optimism that Butler will be back on the court with his teammates. Point guard Kyle Lowry offered a positive take on the situation, as it doesn’t sound like he would bet on Butler missing another game.
“As a guy that knows how competitive he is, I would be optimistic,” Heat guard Kyle Lowry said. “But who knows, honestly?”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat & New York Knicks Updates
The Heat played very competitively against the Knicks in Game 2 without their best player in the lineup, which was encouraging. However, the game plan that they deployed had a lot of volatility as it was reliant on making 3-pointers.
Miami succeeded, but a good amount of their shotmaking came at the end of the shot clock and on pretty difficult looks. Butler draws a lot of attention offensively, so without his presence on the court, the Heat had to get very creative when it came to getting looks offensively.
Credit should be given to Erik Spoelstra, who is one of the best head coaches in the NBA. He put together a strong game plan to help keep his team in the game as a few calls going their way could have changed the outcome of the game.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat & New York Knicks Updates
But, he will certainly be happy about having Butler back in the fold. He has been arguably the best player in the league during the postseason and having him on the court raises their chances of winning exponentially.
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