In the second match of their NBA Playoff series against the Knicks in New York, the Miami Heat could not win. The hard-fought 111-105 loss was partly because Jimmy Butler failed to be there.
Butler could not play after suffering a sprained right ankle late in Miami’s Game 1 victory over New York.
With a few days off before Game 3 in South Beach on Saturday, there is hope that Butler can play again.
“His body will tell you, me, him, and the rest of the team. You can’t know what will happen. But I’m glad we have a couple of extra days,” said Erik Spoelstra, head coach of the Miami Heat.
The Miami Heat were led by Caleb Martin (22 points) and Gabe Vincent (21 points) on Tuesday night when Butler was out of the game. Remember that Tyler Herro, the team’s third-best scorer, will also miss the rest of the playoffs because of an injury.
This is probably why Miami decided to sit Butler in Game 2, even though the star wing wanted to play. The Heat have three days off before Game 3 of the series against New York at home. Miami also considered winning the first game and taking away the Knicks’ home-court edge.
What we do know is that so far in the 2023 NBA Playoffs, Butler has been the best player.
Jimmy Butler’s NBA playoff numbers for 2023 are 35.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.7 APG, and a 59% shooting percentage.
Butler has not only led the NBA in scoring during the playoffs but has also come up big time after time. That included scoring 56 points in a win over the Bucks in Game 4 to reach that total.
Then, Butler went to Milwaukee for Game 5 and scored 42 points, enough for Miami to win and win the series. The best part of that effort was a basket that tied the game in the last few seconds of regulation.
If Butler isn’t close to 100% going forwards, the Heat won’t be able to win this series. Giving him a week off between getting hurt on Saturday and Game 3 could be significant for the team’s future.