Jimmy Butler expected to be out for entire Heat-Celtics series

Jimmy Butler injured his MCL when playing the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening round of the Play-In Tournament on April 16. He missed the opening game between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. The initial expectation was that he could potentially return later in the series.

However, it would appear Butler’s injury was more significant than first thought. According to FanDuelTV’s Shams Charania who was speaking on Monday’s episode of ‘Run it Back,’ Butler is expected to miss the entirety of Miami’s matchup against the Celtics.

“He is not gonna be back in this series,” Charania said. “This is a rehab that’s gonna go at least one month. It’s seriously remarkable to me that he played three quarters on this injury.”

Butler’s absence will be a hammer blow to the Heat’s chances of overcoming the Celtics. As we saw in Game 1, Boston had too much talent and too much depth for Miami to contain throughout the game. Butler was supposed to be Erik Spoelstra’s swing factor. His direct style of play would have pressured the Celtics drop defense and likely forced Joe Mazzulla into making some adjustments.

Yet, it’s Spoelstra who finds himself needing to switch things up. Of course, it doesn’t help that Terry Rozier (neck) and Josh Richardson (shoulder) — two former Celtics — are also out of the rotation.

Boston should smell blood in the water. It doesn’t matter who is or isn’t in the Heat’s rotation; you can only beat what’s in front of you. Without their star player, and with two of their primary ball-handlers sidelined, the Heat are the walking wounded.

The Celtics have their sights set on something much bigger than potentially sweeping the Heat. They want a championship. However, banishing the demons of last season while also flexing your muscles a little bit is never a bad way to generate some much-needed momentum heading into the second round.

Mazzulla will need to keep his team locked in and focused on the task at hand. Still, if Butler doesn’t return, it’s hard to envision the Heat finding much success against one of the best teams in the NBA.