Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler in Danger of Missing Game 1 vs. Sixers?

After taking down the Atlanta Hawks in five games, the Miami Heat punched their ticket to the second round of the playoffs early on last week.

When the Heat entered the Game 5 elimination matchup against the Hawks, they did it without their star forward, Jimmy Butler.

Lately, Butler's been dealing with knee soreness. Even without Butler, the Heat managed to put the Hawks away for good and advance to the next round. At that point, Miami kept its eyes on the Philadelphia 76ers versus Toronto Raptors series in the first round.

Following a Game 6 beatdown, the Sixers advanced to the next round. Now, they are set to throw down with the Heat on Monday night for Game 1 of the second round.

For the Sixers, they will miss a pivotal player to start the series. As Sixers center Joel Embiid suffered an orbital fracture and a mild concussion late in the final game of the first-round series last week, the big man didn't make the trip to Miami.

On the other end, the Miami Heat have quite a few key players who are questionable going into the Game 1 matchup. Most notably, Heat star Jimmy Butler is currently listed as questionable as he's dealing with right knee inflammation.

Although Butler missed Miami's final game against the Hawks last week, the All-Star is trending towards making his return against the Sixers on Monday night.

When the Heat gathered for a practice session over the weekend, Butler addressed reporters and offered a positive update on his current health status.

While mentioning he feels "great" as the Heat prepare for Philadelphia, Butler said he believes his knee will hold up ahead of Monday's game.

For the time being, the Heat are proceeding into Game 1 with caution regarding Butler. But barring any setbacks, it seems Butler intends to play on Monday.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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