Today, the NBA play-offs continue, and after watching the Western Division battle yesterday, it is the turn of the two matchups in the Eastern Division today.
First, the Philadelphia 76ers narrowly defeated the Miami Heat 105-104 to finish 7th in the East and face the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. Next, the Chicago Bulls faced the Atlanta Hawks, who were very strong, leading the Hawks by a large score, and finally won 131-116 to fight the Heat for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot.
The Heat really played a very hard game, not only did they lose the game, but they also lost the absolute core Jimmy Butler.
With about 1 second left in the first quarter, Butler held the ball and made a layup, but there was an accident and accidentally injured his knee. Butler's expression was in pain, and although he struggled to get up to complete the free throw, he had to withdraw from the game and be examined.
In the post-game report, Butler suffered a medial collateral ligament injury and could be out indefinitely. This is a bolt from the blue, after all, the Heat can't do without Butler.
According to follow-up reports, Butler limped when he left the arena today, and he will undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the injury and develop a recovery plan. But time is running out, and the Heat have a playoff game against the Hawks this Saturday, and Butler can't be sure he'll be on the floor.
Without Butler, the Heat's spiritual pillar and backing person would be gone, and the overall competitiveness would have declined seriously. Even if the Heat created another miracle and beat the Hawks together, they faced the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, and they may not have a chance to achieve the Black Eight miracle this year.