The Miami Heat will be without star forward Jimmy Butler on Sunday as the defending Eastern Conference champs take on Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, Butler will be forced to sit out Sunday's tilt due to a knee problem:
The Heat say Jimmy Butler (knee) will not play tonight against Atlanta.
Tyler Herro (hip) WILL play, Heat says.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 28, 2021
Butler did not look worse for wear during the Heat's impressive 124-116 win against the league-best Utah Jazz on Friday. The 31-year-old led Miami to a key victory with a 33-point, 10-rebound, and eight-assist near-triple-double, but as it turns out, Butler did not come out of that win unscathed.
Butler had some inflammation in his right knee and was earlier tagged as questionable against the Hawks. It was confirmed moments prior to the game that Butler was indeed going to have to sit this one out.
The good news for Miami is that Butler's injury does not seem all too serious. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra himself labelled his star's injury as a “minor thing.” Spoelstra also noted that Butler's knee failed to “loosen up the way we wanted it to” during warmups, which led to the team's decision to keep Butler on the shelf.
Butler is now day-to-day with his injury, and he could be available for Tuesday's rematch against Trae Young and Co. This could end up being nothing more than a night off for the always hardworking Jimmy G.
It is also worth noting that as reported in the tweet above, Tyler Herro is now expected to make his return after a three-game absence. The 21-year-old appears to have put his hip issue behind him, and he should provide the team with a boost sans Butler.
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