Heat's Jimmy Butler Won't Play vs. Raptors with Neck Injury; Was Initially Probable
The Miami Heat will be without Jimmy Butler for Tuesday's game against the Toronto Raptors.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Butler will not play because of neck soreness even though "he was not even on the injury report until mid-morning."
Even when he was on the injury list, he was initially listed as probable.
The Marquette product has appeared in 60 games this season, which is more than any of his first three years with the Heat.
However, any missed time at this point of the schedule is going to be magnified given the team's position in the standings. Miami has just seven games remaining in the regular season and is tied with the Brooklyn Nets for the Nos. 6 and 7 seeds in the Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn has the tiebreaker, meaning the Heat would currently be in the play-in tournament as the No. 7 seed.
Playing well down the stretch would help them avoid such a fate, but they will need to figure out how to do so without their leading scorer for at least Tuesday's game. Butler is averaging 22.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 53 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from deep.
The shooting percentage is the highest mark of his career, and he is hitting from outside at his best clip since 2016-17.
Look for Miami to turn toward the combination of Caleb Martin, Tyler Herro and Gabe Vincent for more playing time in Butler's absence.
