Jimmy Butler May Not Return Until After All-Star Break

An MRI on the shoulder of Heat swingman Jimmy Butler came back clean, but there is no guarantee he will play in Miami’s upcoming three-game road trip before the All-Star break, tweets Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.

The All-Star wing has been a revelation for the new-look Heat, leading the charge to the team’s robust 34-17 record. He is averaging 20.5 PPG and career highs of 6.8 RPG and 6.3 APG in 34.5 MPG for the Heat. Butler has been meriting MVP consideration with his efforts, according to NBA.com’s Sekou Smith.

The Heat face a fairly easy road game schedule, playing two teams with sub-.500 records: the 24-29 Trail Blazers tomorrow and the 12-40 Warriors on Monday. Miami will wrap up its road trip in Utah Wednesday against the 33-18 Jazz, who are 19-5 at home. The Heat will not play again until the 20th.

Alex Kirschenbaum contributed to this article.

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