Heat star Jimmy Butler’s ruled out for Game 2 vs. Knicks because of ankle injury
Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler will not play in Game 2.
Butler began the day as questionable but was eventually ruled out just about 90 minutes prior to the start of Game 2 of the Heat’s second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden because of a sprained right ankle he sustained late in Game 1 on Sunday.
Butler was with the Heat at Madison Square Garden for shootaround on Tuesday morning but left the court before media availability began.
“Look, at this point, we’re having very reasonable conversations,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the decision to hold Butler out of Game 2. “I know where his heart is, I know what he wants to do. This was not just a decision between Jimmy and I. We’re probably the worst people who you want to make that kind of decision. So yeah, along with the medical staff and the training staff, we have to make a responsible decision and that was the decision that we made and we’re all on board with that.”
Spoelstra added that an MRI has not been needed for Butler’s ankle and one isn’t planned.
Butler sprained his right ankle on a drive to the basket while making contact and drawing a foul on Knicks guard Josh Hart with 5:05 left in the fourth quarter of Game 1. After turning the ankle, Butler remained down on the court in pain for a few minutes before getting up and limping to the bench.
Butler managed to stay in the game until he was subbed out with 23.6 seconds to play, when the Heat was already well on its way to the victory. But Butler was clearly limited by the injury in the final minutes of Game 1, hobbling around the court and standing stationary in the corner for most of the Heat’s offensive sets down the stretch.
Butler, who did not address reporters following Sunday’s win or during Monday’s off day availability, closed Game 1 with a team-leading 25 points and 11 rebounds in 44 minutes. He made both free throws immediately after injuring his ankle, but did not record a single point, rebound or assist in the final five minutes of Sunday’s win as he played through the pain.
Losing Butler for any amount of time this postseason is a big blow for the Heat. He averaged 35.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 58.5 percent from the field in the Heat’s first six playoff games.
Butler only missed one game this season — a Dec. 26 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves — with a sprained right ankle but has battled through various right ankle sprains during his time with the Heat.
Butler missed seven games because of a sprained right ankle during the 2021-22 regular season and four games because of a sprained right ankle during the 2020-21 regular season. He did not need to miss time due to a sprained right ankle in his first season with the Heat during the 2019-20 campaign.
Of Butler’s six separate absences stemming from a right ankle sprain since he joined the Heat, four have been multigame absences but he has never been forced to miss more than three straight games because of the injury.
The good news for the Heat and Butler is there’s a three-day break between Games 2 and 3 of the second-round series. With Butler missing Game 2, he’ll get nearly a week to rest his ankle before Game 3 on Saturday in Miami.
The Heat went 9-9 in games that Butler missed this regular season.
The Heat will also be without starting guard Tyler Herro (broken right hand) and reserve guard Victor Oladipo (torn left patellar tendon) for Game 2.
Despite the Knicks’ leading duo of Jalen Brunson (sore right ankle) and Julius Randle (sprained left ankle) initially being listed as questionable for Tuesday’s contest, both are available for Game 2.
This story was originally published May 2, 2023 at 12:52 PM.
