Miami Heat to face off against Bulls in play-in game at Kaseya Center without Jimmy Butler – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

MIAMI (WSVN) – With Miami Heat guard Jimmy Butler sidelined after suffering a right knee injury during Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Heat are set to face off against the Chicago Bulls in a win-or-else game Friday night in the NBA’s play-in tournament.

Butler suffered an MCL sprain on his right knee during the final seconds of the opening quarter in the Heat’s play-in loss against Philadelphia. He played for 40 minutes and was able to get the Heat 19 points.

While Butler will be out for several weeks as his recovers, several other Heat players will not play in Friday’s game due to injuries.

Terry Rozier is out with a neck injury and Duncan Robinson is listed as probable with a back injury.

On the line for Friday’s game is a trip to the NBA Playoffs.

“A lot of us of got here, all opportunities that people left the door opening, and being able to take advantage of those opportunities, it’s just one of those things that you don’t have a choice,” said Caleb Martin, Heat forward. “He’s not going to come back, he’s not going to recover his leg in a couple of hours to come back and play. We’ve had guys in many of these positions before where we’ve had huge key pieces go down and we just have to find a way, and that’s part of our culture here. We just find a way.”

During the regular season, the Miami Heat were 13-9 with games Butler missed.

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