The Miami Heat season ended five months ago the moment forward Jimmy Butler sustained a knee injury against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Play-In Tournament.
Butler sprained his MCL late that caused him to miss first-round series against the Boston Celtics. Without Butler and Terry Rozier, the Heat were no match for the eventual championships. The Celtics won in five games.
In the Netflix documentary, Starting Five, Butler explained the feeling.
“Right after the game, we went and got the MRI and it said a severe MCL sprain,” Butler said. “He was like, `I can’t believe that you actually went back out there and started running and playing on this. I was like, `yeah, I thought I could do something.’ I thought I was superhuman. We’re not superhuman.”
Butler placed blame on Sixers forward Kelly Oubre. The injury occurred when Oubre tried to block Butler’s shot near the rim. Butler felt Oubre jumped recklessly, causing Butler to fall awkwardly. The Heat were never the same after the incident.
“[Expletive] Kelly Oubre jumping in the air doing wrestling moves on people, which is crazy,” Butler said. “I was like, `Yea, we got this one in the bag.’ Injuries happen, man. Damn, injuries happen.”‘
The good news is Butler is healthy again. So is Rozier, who was sidelined with a neck injury. Even though the Heat made zero major offseason moves, they feel a healthy core of Rozier, Butler, Jaime Jaquez, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, makes a difference.
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