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Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been ruled out of the team’s Play-In Tournament game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday night due to MCL sprain in his right knee, the team announced. The injury took place during the first quarter of Wednesday’s 105-104 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 Eastern Conference Play-In matchup.

Butler remained in the game after the injury, finishing with 19 points, five assists and five steals on 5-for-18 shooting. There’s added importance on Butler’s health because the Heat will face the Chicago Bulls on Friday for the No. 8 seed, with the loser being eliminated from the postseason.

The Miami star is expected to miss multiple weeks, according to a report from Shams Charania.

Butler suffered the injury with seconds remaining in the first quarter when Kelly Oubre Jr. landed on him following a pump fake near the basket. The concern was immediate from the Heat players and coaches.

Jimmy Butler goes down, grabs at his right leg and screams.

Erik Spoelstra: “What the f*ck was that?”

Alonzo Mourning: “Oh boy.”

Pat Riley looks on in concern. pic.twitter.com/GwcY9ynJd3

— Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) April 17, 2024
Butler limped to the locker room after the quarter ended, but later returned. In the final three quarters, he scored 12 points on 3-for-14 shooting and took just two shots in the last nine minutes of the game.

“It had me feeling that I couldn’t do too much,” said Butler, who was clearly limping on his way out of the Wells Fargo Center.

Jimmy Butler limped out of Wells Fargo Center after the Heat’s play-in loss.

(via @JakeLFischer) pic.twitter.com/xrb78IHM4d

— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) April 18, 2024
What Butler brings on both ends of the court — not to mention his leadership — simply cannot be replaced by anyone on the Heat roster. Miami’s offense landed in the bottom-10 during the regular season and dropped significantly with Butler off the floor. In his minutes, the Heat averaged 116 points per 100 possessions, compared to 109 when he was on the bench.

Butler has a history of grinding through injuries during the postseason while racking up gargantuan minute totals, but he was clearly hindered during Wednesday’s game and the reports are ominous. The Heat could still beat the Bulls in a one-game scenario, especially at home, but their chances of challenging the Boston Celtics in the first round without Butler would be very slim.

The final Western Conference Play-In Tournament game is set, as the New Orleans Pelicans will host the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. The winner will secure the No. 8 seed and advance to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs, while the loser will head to the lottery.

The Pelicans are in this spot after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the Play-In Tournament, and will be without star forward Zion Williamson, who suffered a hamstring strain in that game. As for the Kings, they crushed the Golden State Warriors in their first Play-In game, but will also be shorthanded on Friday due to long-term absences for Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter.

Ahead of Friday’s win-or-go-home game, here’s everything you need to know:

Pelicans vs. Kings
Date: Friday, April 19 | Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
Location: Smoothie King Center — New Orleans, Louisiana
TV channel: TNT | Live stream: fubo (try for free)
Odds: Kings -1.5 | O/U 210.5
Storylines
Pelicans: A once-promising season for the Pelicans has quickly fallen apart. They lost to the Lakers on the final day of the regular season to miss out on the final guaranteed playoff spot in the West, then lost to the Lakers again in the 7 vs. 8 game a few days later, and lost Zion Williamson to a hamstring strain in the process. He is due to be re-evaluated in two weeks, and even if they’re able to beat the Kings on Friday, it seems unlikely that he’d participate in the first round of the playoffs. And without him, they have no chance versus the Thunder.

Kings: The Kings went 4-7 down the stretch in the regular season to fall to ninth, but are one win away from escaping the Play-In Tournament and clinching back-to-back playoff berths for the first time since 2005-06. To do so, they’ll have to get past a Pelicans team that has had their number all season. The Kings are 0-5 against the Pels this season, with four of those losses by double digits. Even with Williamson sidelined, they will not have an easy time on the road.

Prediction
The Pelicans’ long-term hopes are shot without Williamson, but they can win one game at home. Their perimeter defenders make this a bad matchup for the Kings, especially with Monk and Huerter sidelined. I’ll take the Pels in a close one. Pick: Pelicans +1.5