Agent Disputes Reports Of Jimmy Butler Being Sidelined For Multiple Weeks
The agent for Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler refuted reports of his client being out for "multiple reports" after sustaining a knee injury Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Speaking on Sirius XM NBA Radio, Bernie Lee said Butler is expected to visit the doctor this afternoon. ESPN and The Athletic were among the outlets to report Butler is expected to miss a few weeks because of an MCL injury.
"We don't see the doctor until later this afternoon," Lee said. "It blows my mind that somebody that wasn't in the arena has somehow come up with a medical timeline of something that four of us, one is the person that got hurt and me, the person that everything get filtered through ... We don't even know."
Butler sustained the injury late in the first quarter. He played through it but wasn't his usual self after the early awkward fall.
“It felt like I couldn't do too much, which sucks with the timing of the game and everything,” Butler said. “I hope that I'm fine. I hope that I wake up tomorrow and can still stick-and-move. Right now, I can't stay that's the case.”
Butler finished with 19 points on 5 of 18 shooting in 40 minutes. He underwent an MRI Thursday in Miami to determine his playing status against the Bulls.
"It really stiffened up on in the second half," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "As the second half went on, it started to limit him a little bit more ... We have no idea. We'll see when we get back to Miami."
After making the NBA Finals last year, the Heat now face the possibility of missing the postseason. Friday will be even tougher if Butler is unavailable.
“We will do this the hard way,” Spoelstra said. “That has to be the path right now. We're going to rest up, treat up, rally around each other up, get ready for Friday. Again, embrace these competitive games. It will be competitive in front of our home fans.”
