Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat have gotten out of the gates slowly in the 2023-24 NBA season. The Heat have started the new campaign 1-3, and Butler's relatively lackluster play is a large reason why, as the small forward has looked nothing like the player who took over the NBA playoffs at times a season ago.

Now, Butler has found himself on the Heat injury report ahead of the team's next game, a home contest against the Brooklyn Nets. Butler is reportedly dealing with right knee tendinitis that isn't believed to be serious, but is in the same knee that has caused issues for the star the last couple of seasons, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

Jimmy Butler already missed one game this season, choosing to sit out and rest in just the third game of the year against his old team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, a game that Miami lost. Miami lost once again on Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks to drop their record to 1-3 on the campaign.

Of course, Butler and the Heat are coming off of one of the more surprising playoff runs in NBA history, making it all the way to the NBA Finals in 2023 despite entering the postseason as the eighth seed.

However, while many of their Eastern Conference counterparts drastically improved this offseason, Miami largely remained stagnant, leading some to wonder if a repeat of last year's amazing effort was in the cards.

If Butler is dealing with something serious, this season could start to turn sideways in a hurry.