Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler To Play Against Celtics After Missing Past Two Practices

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler missed his second straight practice Saturday.

The team termed it as an excused absence but Butler is expected to play in Sunday's afternoon game against the Boston Celtics. The game serves as an appetizer for the Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.

The Heat are 9-7 this season in games without Butler, who has dealt with various injuries. He is in the middle of arguably his best stretch of the season. Butler has averaged 23.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists in the last five games, with the Heat winning four. The turnaround comes after losing a season-high seven straight games.

At 28-24, the Heat hold the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference standings. The Celtics (40-12) have the best record in the East. This is a rematch of the past two conference finals matchup, with each team splitting one series. Last year the Heat won in seven games to advance to the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets.

Both the Heat and Celtics were relatively quiet at the trade deadline when many felt they would make moves. The Heat were inactive while the Celtics' only activity was adding Jaden Springer from the Philadelphia 76ers.

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat, a Fan Nation channel for Sports Illustrated. He has covered the NBA since 2010.

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