After barely sneaking into the playoffs as the eighth seed, nobody was giving the Miami Heat much of a chance to make any kind of noise in the East. But thanks to the rise of Jimmy Butler, who has been on an especially fiery stretch of late, the Heat have managed to stay alive and put themselves in a position to make the Conference Finals.
Unfortunately for the Heat, however, it appears that Butler is still not 100% after turning his ankle in Game 1.
“It hurts so bad… Not the hair, my ankle,” Butler said in a video on his IG story.
“It hurts so bad. Not the hair, my ankle.”
– Jimmy Butler via his IG story pic.twitter.com/7fN8fkLYxs
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) May 8, 2023
Butler is averaging 34.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in the postseason so far, and he’s been one of the league’s top performances for weeks now since the play-in tournament.
While Jimmy played well in Game 3, where he dropped 28 and 4 in the win, he’s likely going to need to do the same tonight if he wants to give the Heat a 3-1 advantage before going back to New York.
Can Butler Take Miami To The Conference Finals?
The Heat face many challenges on the path ahead, but they cannot afford to take the Knicks lightly. With Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, and RJ Barrett, they have a solid core capable of great things.
But Jimmy seems to turn up his intensity in the playoffs, and his ascension into the highest tiers of greatness has been the biggest difference-maker so far.
“Jimmy Butler is a superstar in the playoffs,” said Knicks superfan Stephen A. Smith on ESPN. “He is something special, and he’s a rough rider. He’s a dog. He’s not one of those people that’s just trying to win. He wants to come to Gotham City, Mecca, and Madison Square Garden, and ruin everything for New Yorkers. That’s what he wants to do. That’s the kind of spirit he got. We have to stop this man.”
Only time will tell how the Knicks handle Butler, but they may get some assistance in the form of discomfort around the ankle. At this point, that injury may be the only thing that keeps the Knicks alive.
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