{"id":271366,"date":"2023-05-02T08:02:31","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T13:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=271366"},"modified":"2023-05-02T12:41:19","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T17:41:19","slug":"jimmy-butler-julius-randle-questionable-injury-heat-knicks-game-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/jimmy-butler-julius-randle-questionable-injury-heat-knicks-game-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Butler, Julius Randle Questionable for Heat\/Knicks Game 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forward Julius Randle and point guard Jalen Brunson from the New York Knicks, along with swingman Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat, are all listed as questionable on the injury report heading into Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.<\/p>\n

\"Jimmy
Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat reacts to an ankle injury in the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden. (Image: AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The #5 Knicks are down 0-1<\/a> in the series when they host the #8 Heat at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. The Heat were +6.5 underdogs in Game 1, yet still held off the Knicks in a 108-101 victory.<\/p>\n

Randle sat out the first game of the series with an ankle injury, while both Brunson and Butler incurred sprained ankles in Game 1.<\/p>\n

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Knicks shooting guard Quentin Grimes, who missed multiple games in the first round with a shoulder injury, only played 10 minutes against the Heat in Game 1. Meanwhile, Knicks backup center Jericho Sims is out for the entire postseason after undergoing surgery for a torn labrum and cuff tendon on his right shoulder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The shorthanded Heat lost two guards during their opening-round upset over the #1 Milwaukee Bucks<\/a>. Shooting guard Tyler Herro fractured his shooting hand<\/a>, and backup guard Victor Oladipo suffered a season-ending knee injury.<\/p>\n

Banged-Up Jimmy Buckets<\/h2>\n

Butler was a one-man wrecking crew in the first round, averaging 37.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.8 steals per game in five games against the Bucks. In the four games the Heat won, he averaged 40.5 points per game. He erupted for a franchise-high 56 points in Game 4, and followed that epic performance with 42 points in the series-clincher in Game 5.<\/p>\n

Butler rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter against the Knicks on Sunday, but remained in the game and played through the pain.<\/p>\n

Jimmy reassured me that he wasn’t going to be a liability, and he wanted to stay in there and make sure we get this win,”<\/strong> said Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Butler still tallied 25 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 43 minutes in Game 1. He shot 50% from the floor and went 9-for-11 from the charity stripe in the 7-point victory.<\/p>\n

Butler has been unstoppable so far in the playoffs. Even without Herro and Oladipo, the Heat have been able to keep winning thanks to Butler’s heroics.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019ve been through a lot this entire year,” Spoelstra told The Athletic. <\/em>“We’re not being insensitive to when guys get nicked up or get hurt. But our group has learned to compartmentalize and focus on the task at hand. We have to get the job done. We’ve had probably more practice than anybody else having to step up when guys get hurt.”<\/p>\n

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