Is Heat's Jimmy Butler playing vs. Nets? Latest injury update
12/23/2024 12:23 PM
As the trade rumors surround Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat, the focus for fans is if he will play Monday night as they take on the Brooklyn Nets. Butler’s status was revealed to be “questionable” for the contest as the team looks to break their three-game skid after winning four straight prior.
Here’s everything we know about Jimmy Butler’s injury and his playing status vs. the Nets.
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Jimmy Butler injury status vs. Nets
It all started when Butler left with an illness during the first quarter of last Friday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder where it looked originally to be an ankle injury because of a collision in a bang-bang play. However, he would go to the locker room where the team later announced he left because he was “feeling ill.”
He has only missed the last game where the Heat suffered a major collapse to the Orlando Magic, at one point having a 25-point lead and losing a 22-point lead going into the fourth quarter. If he were to be out again Monday night, the team needs to figure out how to engrain the “next man up mentality” as the Heat’s captain Bam Adebayo said after the loss to the Thunder.
"We got to figure this thing out," Adebayo said. "You can't harp on who's in, who's out. It's about going out there and trying to get the W."
Bam Adebayo on hearing that Jimmy Butler won't be returning to the game.
"Next man up…" #HeatNationpic.twitter.com/2v4WXlbyyn
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) December 21, 2024
Butler entered the Heat’s loss to the Thunder with an illness but felt ready to go as head coach Erik Spoelstra explained after the game.
"I'm not thinking any other thought," Spoelstra said. "If guys say they can go, we're going right now."
Erik Spoelstra on Jimmy Butler being ill before the game.
"If guys say they can go, we're going…" #HeatNationpic.twitter.com/DhamlZVHoG
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) December 21, 2024
Heat’s Erik Spoelstra on the collapse without Jimmy Butler
Still, it was not like Butler’s absence last Saturday caused anyone to falter to start the Heat’s collapse against the Magic as they scored 76 points in the first half, a season-high, but would crack under the pressure, scoring eight in the final frame. Orlando was without their top three players Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs as Spoelstra would cite their defense and an exceptional 35 points from Cole Anthony.
"You have to credit them," Spoelstra said via The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. "They stepped up their defense, they got stops…We started to try to self-will a little bit versus that pressure, that led to turnovers. And then when we did get open looks, we weren't in a rhythm and you're feeling a little bit of the momentum shift. It's tough to knock those down."
"It just became an absolute avalanche from there," Spoelstra continued on Anthony. "Once he hit two, it became three, four. Going into the fourth quarter, he was in a great rhythm. And so even though there was some separation, that's the danger. You let an ignitable guy like that see a couple go down and the momentum just shifted from there."
Miami is now 13-13 as they look to beat Brooklyn.
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