The Latest on Jimmy Butler's Knee Injury as Celtics-Heat Series Looms

The Miami Heat suffered a 105-104 loss in their play-in tournament tilt vs. the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

Fortunately for the former, earning the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference means they'll have a second chance at punching their ticket to the playoffs. 

Miami will host the Chicago Bulls on Friday. However, the expectation is the Heat are without Jimmy Butler. 

The star forward injured his knee near the end of the first quarter after an awkward landing following a layup attempt, with Kelly Oubre falling on the afflicted area. His night ended early when head coach Erik Spoelstra subbed him out of Wednesday's loss with 19 seconds left and the defending Eastern Conference champions trailing 101-98.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, there's fear Butler sustained an MCL injury in his knee that will sideline him for multiple weeks.

Per WebMD.com, a Grade 1 MCL sprain usually heals in 1-3 weeks. A Grade 2 MCL tear often takes 4-6 weeks with treatment. A Grade 3 MCL tear tends to take six weeks or longer to heal with treatment and may take longer if one undergoes surgery.

If the Heat win without the six-time All-Star on Friday, they'll face the Celtics in a first-round playoff series that starts on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 EST at TD Garden.

Game 5, if necessary, is precisely two weeks from when Butler injured his knee.

Further Reading

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Jaylen Brown Shares What Latest Milestone Means to Him

Celtics Embracing Challenge to Go Beyond Most Talented

Jayson Tatum Opens Up About Sacrificing in Celtics' Title Pursuit: 'It's a Process'