As they look to bounce back after a Game 1 loss in Boston, the Heat can’t count on Jimmy Butler to return at some point later in the first round to give them a boost. While the team hasn’t provided any sort of official timetable on Butler’s recovery from an MCL sprain, Shams Charania of The Athletic said on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link) that the star swingman is going to remain on the shelf for a while.
“It’s crazy to me that Jimmy Butler played three quarters with what I’m hearing now was a severe MCL sprain,” Charania said. “He is not going to be back in this series. This is a rehab that’s go at least one month — could be two months of rehab.
“… Thankfully for him it wasn’t the ACL, it wasn’t a meniscus. But even if the Heat were to advance (beyond) this first round, somehow, his postseason availability is still very much up in the air.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Although Miami suffered a resounding loss in Game 1 on Sunday, there were at least a couple silver linings, as Anthony Chiang writes in a pair of stories for The Miami Herald. The team’s last two first-round picks – Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez – made the first playoff starts of their respective careers and ultimately held their own despite some shaky moments in the first quarter. Additionally, buyout market addition Delon Wright came up big off the bench, scoring 17 points and making all five of his three-point attempts. Wright figures to play a regular role in the series with Terry Rozier (neck) sidelined.
- The odds are against the Heat repeating last spring’s success and making another deep playoff run, but even in the event of a first-round exit, the team should be well positioned for the offseason, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Appearing on NBA Countdown (YouTube link), Wojnarowski said he expects a lot of action on the trade market this summer and pointed out that Miami is almost among the preferred destinations for disgruntled stars. That didn’t do the Heat much good in the Damian Lillard talks last summer, but the team should have more leverage with trade targets who have fewer years left on their contracts, Woj adds.
- William Guillory of The Athletic takes a look at how Bam Adebayo became Udonis Haslem‘s successor as a pillar of “Heat Culture” and how the big man plans to uphold that ethos for years to come.
“ Heat Culture”?!?! What is that? Constantly coming up short?
We get it, you hate the Heat. You make it clear every time you post on a Heat-related article.
Dude, find one other heat related article I posted on. I’ll wait
It’s Eon. He’ll come in and sound off but not be quite so accurate at times.
But to the point at hand, I actually agree with the Heat culture thing. Eric Spoelstra has got to be the best coach in the NBA hands down aside from Popovich I guess.
They piece together lineups when missing stars and still get it done. They’re schemes, their defense and offense, the guys they pick up and draft and develop, it’s just a top-notch organization.
So I think Heat culture is very real. But I also think Warrior culture is very real. The organization puts the players and coaches in the best position possible to win. Then in the Heat case, the talent takes over like coach and the assistants and of course the players on the floor.
And yet they can’t get the job done. Pretty crappy culture if you ask me
Slapnuts – 3 NBA titles, 4 additional NBA finals appearances, 10 Conference Finals appearances. In just 36 seasons… All 7 NBA finals appearances have all come within the last 17 years. Love my Heat!
Off the top of my head, only teams that have a better history all-time are the Lakers, Celtics, Spurs, Bulls and Pistons. Warriors are up there too due to their modern dominance.. Give respect where respect is due.
Who do you root for?
All the teams you listed have tradition that vastly outweighs the heat. That’s difference from a “culture”. People didn’t even start using that term since Butler showed up, and he hasn’t won anything