Jimmy Butler has been doing his best to will his Miami Heat out of the dreaded play-in spots, putting up one strong performance after another as they continue to battle with the Brooklyn Nets for the privilege of earning an outright playoff spot.
However, with the Heat's season series defeat to the Nets punctuated by a 29-point beatdown this past Saturday, they will need to finish with a record better than that of the Nets to finish above them in the standings, making every game, including their Tuesday night contest against the Toronto Raptors, extra crucial.
Thus, the Heat will need the services of their talisman to help improve their chances of getting a win against the hungry Raptors, a team that needs every win they can get at the moment as well to gain a more favorable play-in standing. Unfortunately, Butler is a surprise scratch for this game because of neck soreness, the Heat announced Tuesday afternoon.
According to an earlier injury report, Butler was listed as probable to play against the Raptors. But it seems this neck soreness was just too much for him despite this being an important game for postseason positioning.
This is obviously a bad sign for the Heat, who really could use Butler's 22.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per night to fend off a Raptors team that has benefitted greatly from the addition of Jakob Poeltl prior to the trade deadline. The Raptors have won 11 of their past 19 games, as they have played like a more functional NBA team relative to their early-season mishmash of talent.
For a man known for missing a few games here and there due to general soreness, Jimmy Butler had been durable for the Heat ever since the calendar flipped to 2023. For the new year, Butler had only missed one game before this one (a three-point win over the Boston Celtics on January 24), having suited up in 36 of Miami's past 37 games.
With the considerable uncertainty still hanging over the Heat's collective head, Butler is hoping to not miss much more time after sitting out this key late-season affair in the Eastern Conference.
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