Jimmy Butler Ruled Out for Heat vs. Pistons; Ankle Injury Diagnosed as Sprain

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been ruled out for the remainder of Tuesday's game against the Detroit Pistons because of a sprained right ankle, the team announced.

Butler suffered the injury in the second quarter. He had eight points on 2-of-9 shooting at the time of his exit.

Butler has averaged 21.4 points on 47.1 percent shooting, 6.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists for a 45-24 Heat team that sits first in the Eastern Conference.

Miami leads the East despite its top four scorers (Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry) all missing at least 13 games apiece thus far.

Butler, who earned his sixth All-Star appearance this year and seems well on his way to a fifth All-NBA team nod, has missed 21 contests for various ailments.

Specifically, he has suffered a right ankle sprain (three games), a tailbone contusion (four games), a reinjury of the tailbone ailment (eight games), a right ankle injury (three games), an additional ankle injury (one game), a toe injury (one game) and a non-COVID illness (one game).

Somehow, the Heat have stayed atop the East despite Butler missing time.

Without him, Herro, Adebayo and Lowry have had to assume more responsibilities, and Gabe Vincent has entered the starting lineup. Candidates to see more time off the bench in Butler's absence include Victor Oladipo and Max Strus.