Jimmy Butler was officially ruled out for the Miami Heat's clash with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. Head coach Erik Spoelstra said Butler tested his injured ankle during Miami's shoot-around but wasn't moving well enough to play, per Anthony Chiang.
The Heat have dealt with no shortage of injury trouble this season. Bam Adebayo, Dewayne Dedmon, and Omer Yurtseven will also be unavailable on Monday. Jimmy Butler recently discussed suffering yet another injury this year for Miami.
“I can only imagine how my teammates feel and my coaches feel, how coach Pat and them feel,” Butler said, via South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “But I want to be out there, honestly. Because I think that I can help. I know that I can help. And I will get this thing right and we’ll be ready to string together some wins.”
The Heat need Jimmy Butler on the floor. He's the backbone of the team without question. Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, and Tyler Herro all offer different attributes to help the Heat. But Butler's presence is what strings everything together. Adebayo even admitted that Butler is Miami's “closer,” per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
“We gave Jimmy the ball,” Adebayo said. “He’s our closer. So let him do his thing down the stretch.”
The Heat enter their matchup with the Timberwolves sporting a mediocre 16-17 record. They are aiming to stay afloat amid Butler's absence.
We will continue to monitor and provide updates on Jimmy Butler's injury as they are made available.
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