On January 4, Beijing time, the NBA regular season ushered in a focus showdown, and the Heat, ranked No. 4 in the East, challenged the Warriors, who are currently the no. 1 in the league. The two teams have been clinging to the score since the beginning of the game, and the offensive end is more in contact with each other, playing a very wonderful performance. However, with about 3 minutes left in the third quarter, Butler suddenly fell down during an attack and sprained his right foot, and then he fell to the ground in pain and finally left the game with the support of his teammates. The sudden injury also disrupted the heat's overall rhythm, and they are now 10 points behind the Warriors.
Before leaving the court with an injury, Butler maintained a very good competitive state, and has already scored 22 points and 5 rebounds in this game, which is a very key player for the team to be able to always hold on to the score. The heat's official Twitter also released a dynamic in the first time after Butler left the game, saying that Butler's right foot was injured again, and it has now returned to the locker room, and further injury assessment needs to be examined before a final conclusion can be reached.
Butler's right foot is not the first time he has suffered an injury, as early as last season he was frequently plagued by right foot injuries and there was no way to maintain his absolute health. After the start of the season, he also often had sore right feet. Butler suffered a right ankle injury during the lakers' game last November, when he was also sent back to the locker room and eventually missed the rest of that game.
Butler's injury is undoubtedly worse for the Heat, after the start of the season, the fans were full of expectations for the Heat's lineup, after all, such a combination of the old and the new and the team with a strong offensive and defensive conversion strength, will naturally be the favorite team to win the championship in the minds of fans, and after the start of the season, the Heat did play the same game as people expected. However, with the continuous advancement of the schedule, the Heat began to suffer from injuries, before Butler, there have been three players including Adebayo, Diamond, Morris and other three players have suffered different injury effects, are still in the injury list, to know that these are the Heat's absolute defensive toughsters, this time Butler's injury retreat, so that the already stretched Heat defense line has become more fragile, they are very likely to suffer consecutive defeats in the next game. And more critically, the Heat are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are still a lot of players in the stage where health agreements are triggered, so it's likely that they will start recruiting Firefighters through a short-term 10-day contract to assemble the rotation.
Speaking of which, it has to be lamented that the Chase Center, the home of the Warriors, is really a place full of infinite unknowns, which can be called the injury place of star players, in addition to Butler, there have been a number of players recruited in this venue, resulting in the absence of the team's game, including their own former player Durant and Klay Thompson, who is about to return to the court. Of course, such a thing as injury is naturally a scene that every team and fans do not want to see, and everyone naturally hopes that the players can play every game in a healthy and full state and strive for better results.
In any case, I still wish Butler will not be affected by this injury, after all, he is now the soul of the Heat team, and whether the Heat can complete the miracle of last season and continue to be a strong contender for the championship, Butler is an indispensable part.