On April 18, Beijing time, the Heat lost to the 76ers 104-105, and the team missed the seventh place in the East, and had to play another play-off game to compete for a playoff ticket. Jimmy Butler injured his right knee in this fight and walked with a limp after the game. Charania of The Athletic revealed that Butler could suffer a medial collateral ligament injury (MCL) in his knee or be sidelined indefinitely. That means it's unlikely that Butler will play in Game 2 of the playoffs, and the Heat are in a bad situation.
Celtic will sit and receive the big gift. After all, although the Green Army is the first in the East and the regular season champion, no one wants to meet the Heat in the playoffs. Last year's Heat lost to the Hawks in the first round of the playoffs, but defeated the Bulls in the second round to reach the playoffs as the eighth in the East, and then ushered in a crazy explosion. In the first round of the playoffs, the Heat staged the Black Eight Miracle and eliminated the Bucks 4-1. Jimmy Butler turned into a playoff Jimmy, with the feat of scoring 56 points in a single game. The Heat continued to soar, eliminating the Knicks 4-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, narrowly defeating the Green Army 4-3 in the Eastern Conference Finals, and finally losing to the Nuggets 1-4 in the finals.
Jimmy Butler fell on a layup in the first quarter of the game and injured his right knee, but he stayed on until the end of the game. Butler finished with 19 points, four rebounds, five assists and five steals on 5-of-18 shooting, 2-of-6 three-pointers and 7-of-8 free throws. Butler, who was fighting with injuries, was inefficient offensively.
When he left the pitch after the game, he limped and looked very lonely, wearing a protective gear on his knees. According to Charania of The Athletic, Butler could suffer a medial collateral ligament injury in his knee or be sidelined indefinitely. Butler said after the game: "I don't feel like I can do a lot of movement right now. ”
If Butler is out indefinitely, the Heat will most likely not be able to make it through to the next play-in game. The Heat's change of blood this season was not successful, and the team basically relied on last season's lineup in the end. Only rookie Harkes was a support point off the bench.
After the loss, Spoelstra said after the race: "We're going to take a harder road, and that's going to be the next road for us, we're going to get rest and treatment, cheer each other on, prepare for Friday's game [Saturday CST], and embrace these very competitive games." It's going to be a competitive home game and we'll be on Friday night to get a little tougher down. ”
But it's clear that if Butler can't play, the Heat's season is likely to be over in the next game. It's time for the Celtics to breathe a sigh of relief, and there is a high probability that they don't have to play against the Heat in the first round of the playoffs, and they don't have to play against "Jimmy in the playoffs".