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Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler was ruled out of the team’s matchup with the Denver Nuggets on Friday after suffering a sprained right ankle, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
Butler slipped while driving to the basket in the first quarter, checking out of the game and immediately entering Miami’s locker room.
He recorded two points and two assists while hitting one of his two field-goal attempts prior to exiting the contest.
He was subsequently ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
While Butler’s availability hasn’t been consistent in recent years, he appeared in all eight of Miami’s regular-season games before his ankle injury against the Nuggets.
The 35-year-old suited up in just 60 games last season and missed the team’s first-round playoff loss to the Boston Celtics due to a right MCL issue. Butler hasn’t appeared in more than 64 contests in a single year since joining the Heat and hasn’t surpassed 70 games played since his 2016-17 campaign with the Chicago Bulls.
He entered Friday’s matchup averaging 18.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three.
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The Heat haven’t gotten off to a strong start this season, sitting at 3-5.
Still, Butler’s presence is crucial for Miami to succeed on both ends of the floor. As long as he’s out, head coach Erik Spoelstra will rely on Bam Adebayo to keep the Heat offense afloat while continuing to anchor their defense.
Haywood Highsmith is a top candidate to replace Butler in Miami’s starting lineup if he’s forced to miss time, especially after the 27-year-old scored a season-high 19 points against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.
Butler’s status beyond Sunday remains up in the air at the moment.
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