After suffering a knee injury against the Houston Rockets on Feb. 23, Jimmy Butler was active against the Denver Nuggets but did not play. As the Minnesota Timberwolves and Nuggets are currently tied for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference, the 28-year-old has seen enough with just three games remaining in the 2017-18 NBA season.

According to Marc Stein of New York Times, Butler is planning to return to the team's starting lineup against the Los Angeles Lakers:

Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler is planning to return to Minnesota’s lineup Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers to begin his comeback from February knee surgery, according to two people familiar with Butler’s decision.

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Prior to Butler's injury, the Timberwolves were projected to have homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. However, his 16-game absence created a lot of competition as the Utah Jazz (fourth spot) and Denver Nuggets (ninth spot) are only separated by two games.

At this stage, it is unclear what physical condition Butler is in. It is no surprise the four-time All-Star wants to help Minnesota make the playoffs for the first time since the 2003-04 season where Kevin Garnett and company lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Regardless of what happens, Butler's return should energize his teammates like Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins to make one final push.

Butler is averaging 22.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 56 appearances.