Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler’s ankle reportedly was swollen to the “size of a baseball” after Game 1 against the New York Knicks.
Not gonna take a photo but Jimmy Butler’s ankle is swollen to about the size of a baseball. He just had his ankle taped. That’s gonna be painful in the morning.
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) April 30, 2023
Jimmy Butler is listed as questionable for Tuesday night against New York, with his sprained right ankle.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) May 1, 2023
Haywood Highsmith is listed as probable for Tuesday against New York, with left knee tendinitis.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) May 1, 2023
Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo remain out for the Heat, following their surgeries.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) May 1, 2023
Butler was injured in the fourth quarter on a foul by Josh Hart, but he remained in the game for the Heat over the closing minutes. However, the Heat star was noticeably hobbled during the final minutes of the team’s Game 1 win against New York.
Despite the injury, Butler finished Game 1 with 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, 11 rebounds and four assists. He came up big for the Heat once again to win their fifth playoff game in six tries this postseason.
The Knicks and Heat face off in Game 2 on Tuesday night, and it’s possible the Heat could look to sit Butler if his ankle is too injured for him to play effectively. Miami has already gained home-court advantage in the series by stealing Game 1 in New York.
The other benefit of sitting Butler is that it would give the star until Saturday’s Game 3 to rest his ankle. There are three days off between Tuesday’s matchup and the first game in Miami of the series.
Without Butler, the Heat would be in a ton of trouble in the playoffs, as they are already down two key scorers in Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo.
Butler is playing some of the best basketball of his career in this season’s playoffs. The six-time All-Star is averaging a league best 35.5 points per game in the playoffs while shooting 58.5 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from the 3-point line.
He’s also putting up 6.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game for Miami.
If the Heat want to make their third Eastern Conference Finals in four seasons, they’ll need Butler to be relatively healthy to do so.
Hopefully, the swelling in the Heat star’s ankle will go down over the next few days to allow him to play and finish out the series.
If not, the Heat will likely rely heavily on Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo offensively against the Knicks. Game 2 is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, May 2.
