Miami Heat star wing Jimmy Butler missed Tuesday's game against the Boston Celtics due to a back injury. Still, without their best player, the Heat managed to beat Boston, 98-95, behind a 30-point, 15-rebound performance from center Bam Adebayo. Next up on the schedule for the Heat are the Orlando Magic, who will visit Miami on Friday night. And a recent positive injury update indicates that Butler will be ready to go for that game.
Butler said on Thursday that he will play against the Magic, per a tweet from the South Florida Sun Sentinel's Adam Lichtenstein.
Butler, 34, is in his 12th year in the big leagues since being selected 30th overall back in the 2011 NBA Draft. He has played for four different teams during his career — the Bulls, Wolves, 76ers, and Heat — and earned at least one All-Star appearance with three of them.
Butler is averaging 21.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks across 34 appearances this season, his fourth season as a member of the Heat. He is scoring the ball incredibly efficiently from the field thus far in 2022-23. His current 51.6% field-goal percentage is a career high by a wide margin, and his 31.3% three-point percentage is his best since the 2018-19 campaign, back when he was with the Timberwolves and Sixers.
With Butler set to return to the lineup, the Heat should have no problem beating the Magic at home on Friday. Led by Paolo Banchero, the Magic have been surprisingly competitive this year, but they still struggle on the road, as evidenced by their 6-17 road record.
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