Jimmy Butler might be the third of his name, but the Miami Heat’s 33-year-old is one of his kind. There is something with him and the games that matter. Jimmy Buckets comes out right on time almost every time.
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In the regular season where the Heat finished as the season 44-38, just outside the Playoffs seed, Jimmy averaged 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. But as soon as the Playoffs came, the 6x All-Star became a fundamentally different player, much like most other post-seasons in his 12-year career.
However, after he put up quick fire 30 points in 28 minutes against the Bucks in Game 3, he took a scary fall while trying to score on Jrue Holiday late in 3rd quarter. That kept him out for the rest of the game, but by then he had set his team up to win the game. Will he be available for Game 4? Let’s find out.
Is Jimmy Butler playing tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks?
Butler’s effort won his team Game 3 by a score line of 121-99. With Giannis Antetokounmpo’s status moved to ‘questionable’ for Game 4, it’s necessary that the Heat’s main man plays this game. However, Butler is present on the Heat’s injury list as ‘questionable’.
The injury report is out for the #Bucks and #Heat tomorrow
Giannis Antetokounmpo is questionable (back)
Wesley Matthews is out (calf)Jimmy Butler is questionable (glute)
Bam Adebayo is probable (hamstring)
Tyler Herro, Nikola Jokic and Victor Oladipo are out @CBS58— Darius Joshua (@DariusJoshuaTV) April 23, 2023
So, Butler might miss his team’s crucial game at home and the chance to take a 3-1 lead in the series. If the Bucks make it 2-2 and their 2x MVP is fit for the games to follow, it will be difficult for the Heat to take the lead back in the series.
Is Butler’s injury concerning? Can the Heat win a game without him?
The fall that Butler took was a bit like Antetokounmpo’s in Game 1, in which he injured his tailbone and missed out on 3/4th of Game 1 and all of Games 2 and 3.
Despite Holiday’s decent job of defending Butler, the forward is averaging 30 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals per game in 3 games.
Without him, the Heat doesn’t stand a chance to win against the Bucks, with or without Antetokounmpo which was pretty clear after Game 2. We have to wait and watch what unfolds tonight.
