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As Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler has missed the last three games due to an ankle injury, the team has shared news that should excite fans for Sunday's contest against the Indiana Pacers. Having Butler suffered the injury on Nov. 8 and missing every game since, he has been upgraded to questionable according to the team's official X, formerly Twitter, account.
So far this season, Butler has been averaging 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 15.4 percent from beyond the arch. After the Heat had the bounce-back win to the Pacers Friday night, Butler hopes to bring more of a boost to end the six-game road trip on a good note before coming back home Monday.
Heat's Jimmy Butler looking to bring huge boost
Butler had been receiving murky updates since the injury earlier in the month, but if there was one aspect that Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra always said, it was that the 34-year-old had been progressing behind the scenes in rehab.
“I do not have an update,” Spoelstra said before the game Friday, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “But he’s putting in a lot of work. That part, his head coach likes to see.”
There is no doubt that Butler is the driving force of Miami on offense and defense, though player availability has been an issue since he hasn't played more than 64 games with the team since arriving in 2017. Heat president Pat Riley was non-committal on a contract extension with Butler for that very reason, despite the main core reaching the NBA Finals twice.
At any rate, Butler is on his way to make his return Friday against the Pacers, but if there is a setback, it would likely happen on Monday when they return home to host the Philadelphia 76ers. The Heat are 5-6, which puts them sixth in the Eastern Conference.
