The first game of the NBA Play-In Tournament could not have gone worse for the Miami Heat. Not only did they lose to the Philadelphia 76ers 105-104, but their star player, Jimmy Butler, appeared to get injured late in the game.
Butler played 39:39, scoring 19 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds and five steals. But, his status for the Heat’s game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday night and beyond is up in the air.
Reports have surfaced that Butler is dealing with an MCL injury that will keep him sidelined for at least a few weeks. The injury occurred in the first quarter when he was on a fast break going for a layup and fell awkwardly after a collision with Kelly Oubre Jr.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler & Miami Heat Updates
Somewhat miraculously, Butler remained in the game despite being in visible pain. After the game, he recounted the incident, saying, “I fell, he landed, and my knee just didn’t hold up well.”
By all accounts, the Heat will have to play against the Chicago Bulls on Friday night for the chance to earn the No. 8 seed in the NBA Playoffs without Butler in the lineup. However, his agent believes that people are jumping the gun with the diagnosis.
Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, made an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio with Frank Isola and Brian Scalabrine. He is disputing the current injury reports about the status of his client for the game on Friday and beyond.
“We don’t even know…and now we’re having to live in somebody else’s created reality,” Lee said during his appearance.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler & Miami Heat Updates
Butler is set to meet with a doctor on Thursday afternoon, which is what Lee was harping on the most about the medical timeline that has been shared of his client. He claims they don’t even know the diagnosis yet and it would be impossible for anyone else, who was not in the arena or speaking to Butler as he was, to know what is going on.
Lee does make a good point, that if a timeline for Butler’s presumed injury had been made public, he would be one of the first people to know about it. We will know for sure once he is done getting tested later today, but his status for Friday night is up in the air.
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