The Miami Heat were handed a brutal hand against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. After delays to the tip-off to the game, they lost in brutal fashion to the home team courtesy of a Trae Young floater. Worse, they suffered their own setback, losing Kyle Lowry late in the game due to a hamstring injury.

The Heat are now in danger of not having their point guard for a pivotal Game 4 in Atlanta. While Kyle Lowry is ready to channel his inner Hugh Jackman and heal up faster than Wolverine, Jimmy Butler is already prepared for the worst-case scenario. (via ESPN)

“If he's with us, yippee-ki-yay. If he's not, somebody has got to step in and do his job. It's very, very hard to do. But we got enough in that locker room to try to bring to the table what Kyle does. He'll get his treatment and we'll see where he's at.”

Hamstring injuries are notoriously tricky to recover from. While most aren't exactly career-damaging, returning from a hamstring injury too soon can result in a major injury again. The Heat don't want to risk Lowry getting worse after this injury. At the same time, though, they'll need everybody available to deal with the Hawks.

Winning Game 4 will be a massive step in the right direction for the Heat. A 3-1 lead isn't insurmountable for any team, but it sure gives a big cushion for any team. Plus, being able to end your series early will mean a ton of free recovery time for your injured stars.