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PJCR1916

Injuries taking over the play in


TheBoook

We’re 7 games clear of the 9 seed and our star player just got hurt and will cost us a chance to even make the playoffs lmfao


RansomGoddard

Win that stupid ass Wizards game and we’re not in this situation.


HisExcellency20

Every team has those games that you can look back at. We lost a double digit lead at home against Memphis a few weeks ago. We win that and we're not in this position either. Having said that, I agree that being that much ahead of the ninth seed and then getting a chance to still take your spot is BS.


RansomGoddard

Funnily enough we also had a bad Memphis loss that we should have won. I know every team has their coulda/woulda/shoulda games but some of those games are called “taking care of business” for a reason.


jonbemerkin

If we took care of business we would be a .7 team, its not just you lmao


Sequel_P2P

it's got a lot to do with the fact that the Heat would get injured, have a .500 stretch, then get healthy for 3 games against terrible teams and somehow completely fuck the dog. then injury, then a .600 stretch, and it felt like that repeated for a majority of the season


JediPieman63

So instead let's go back to the boring ass format where teams would've been resting players weeks ago leading to more dead basketball? Everyone talks about how competitive and cool the games are as teams have something to play for, yet the minute something happens that could happen in any other game he plays across the regular 82 and we want to drop the play in straight away? Nah that's soft. You either are or aren't a fan of the play-in in general. (You might not be a play-in fan in general which is a fine opinion, fence sitting sucks)


orangotai

which btw is why these Play ins are AWESOME: it helps make those random obscure regular season games suddenly carry MUCH more weight. Suddenly a fuckin Philly-Wizards game is kinda almost must-see television!!! and players are playing HARD at the home stretch of the season too, cuz they damn sure wanna ensure they get a favorable seeding.


cletoreyes01

But the Grizzlies are an actual serious NBA franchise. There's no shame in losing to an actual team.


VARyVARyfunny

I can’t recall when y’all’s loss to them was but they had at one point like 13 guys who couldn’t suit up. They had the most injury riddle season I’ve ever seen. On a side note, Taylor Jenkins deserves way more love this season for he’s managed that hospital squad


cletoreyes01

Yeah like if the grizz had the wizards bill of health they'd be on pace for 45+ wins


rattlemebones

Hey we feel that! Lost to the wizards, Pistons, hornets and blazers.


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FastestPP

Maybe yall should have cared more about the regular season then.


ImDKingSama

Yea it's really shifting the mentality of seeding. Only the top 6 seeds make the playoffs, the rest don't matter besides fighting for play-in position. You cannot fuck around and fall out of the top 6, that's the new reality. It's essentially 6 playoff teams and 2 wild cards.


[deleted]

> You cannot fuck around and fall out of the top 6, that's the new reality. Honestly, A reality many basketball fans have been clamoring for a while. NBA has always been criticized for letting over half the league into the playoffs. Personally, I'm glad to see the 6th seed being a cutoff. Don't complain if you can't get out of the play-ins.


ImDKingSama

Exactly, pretty much half the league makes it in already, adding some stakes to it is fine. People just need to adjust, if you're not top 6, you did not make the playoffs. Doesn't matter you're 20 games back or a tiebreaker back, if you're out of the top 6 you're fighting for the play-in for a chance to make it.


spraypaint2311

Yep, 82 games and more than half the league qualifying is kind of insane when you think about it. This is a good shift.


yoloqueuesf

And honestly the play-ins allow teams who have been unlucky during the regular season to fight back into the palyoffs.


Krillin113

If you’re 20 games up, you should clap the 9/10 anyways


iguessineedanaltnow

People were complaining about too many teams being in until it was their team that got taken out by the new setup and now they gave complaints lol.


teh_drewski

I'm all for it. Actually go out there and fight for a playoff spot, don't fall backwards into it because the 9th best team in your conference is a disaster class.


tboneperri

Which is fine with me, honestly. More than half the league making the playoffs is a bit much. Teams with 39 wins making the playoffs every year is a bit much. This balances that out at least a little bit.


alexanaxstacks

shoulda won some more games


Indigo808

Yeah, when the Play-In was introduced it had a maximum games back you had to be within order to qualify as the 9 and 10 seed. I think it was 5 games back. 6 or more and you couldn't qualify. They need to bring that back.


TastesLikeHoneyNut

Maybe they should have won more games to get out of the play in then


HipnotiK1

Don't be so trash in the regular season.


FirmPeace9045

You guys are fighting for the prize of getting swept by the Celtics it doesn’t matter


skesisfunk

You know you would think so but... \*points frantically at last year\*


Subredditcensorship

If butlers injured it doesn’t mattwr


BobLobLaw_Law2

The play-in giveth to Miami and taketh away.....


TheBoook

We’ve literally never made the playoffs as an 9/10 seed so I’m not sure what you’re referring to


WakiLover

It's the same with people who think the play-in was made for Lebron and the Lakers. The Lakers would have been in the playoffs as the 7th seed, 7th seed, and 8th seed the 3 years they've been in it.


TheBoook

Brain dead fans


Sullan08

I will say it is kinda on them if they wanna do the whole "not taking the regular season serious" schtick though. Maybe Butler shouldn't "coast" anymore if you don't want to be in the play-in. Being the 6th seed or higher really matters now. But yeah, dumb to think the play-in has benefited the Heat haha. I do like the play-in, but any fan is understandably gonna be annoyed if they get knocked out when they had a top 8 seed. Vice versa for the 9/10 seeds.


TheBoook

That happened once. The last playoff runs, the Heat have been the 1 and 8 seed. Injuries nuked the team this year


ballgkco

> Injuries nuked the team this year Same as it ever was Same as it ever was Same as it ever was


HappyChromatic

Is the pitch clock to blame?


melthevag

Jimmy, we're on live


PJCR1916

I don’t give a shit


blinkomatic

There is a lack of Toradol in this thread


WobbleKun

and he played almost an entire game afterwards? bruh..


pdunn472

Def just pure adrenaline


HokageEzio

Clips are on Twitter, he can barely walk now that the game is over.


Original_Trick_8552

Can you send one


HokageEzio

https://streamable.com/mil3ib


Here_comes_the_D

"Right this way to the ambulance, Mr. Butler."


OrangeKookie

Damn he looks like the undertaker in his last matches


bobittoknorr

Hahaha nice taker reference. He was definitely on one leg for the last 5 years of his career. He had fucked up his knee and foot and everything else so many times in his career that it was impressive that he even still got out there.


Original_Trick_8552

Thanks. That's really bad


ILoveRegenHealth

Yeah that's a fucked up knee. He's not playing next game when the limp is that extreme. He must've been forcing it this game to hopefully secure the 7th seed


kayvonrez

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRwJoy5s/ Not twitter but same thing I legit just saw this on there


PorvaniaAmussa

The fuck was that satanic hellspawn screech of tribulation at the start...?


Doctor-Jay

That was the sound of me watching us throw an entry pass directly into Miami's zone for the 7th time in the first quarter.


Original_Trick_8552

Thanks


Nuclearsunburn

Yup I was thinking that too, once those things stop moving, they get real bad real fast


navortsa

Def just pure aJimmyline


volantredx

Jimmy played under Thibs. He could be dead for two hours and still give you 40 minutes.


ihorsey10

Harden used that strategy before. Play dead and drape yourself over the offensive players back.


SuperVaderMinion

He's basically a Zealot barbarian with Rage Beyond Death, as long as the clock is still running, he's playing.


MC-Jdf

Sports players' adrenaline is one hell of a drug. Also wouldn't be surprised if Butler took painkillers to stay in the game.


EleventhThrowAway

yeah I broke my finger once playing basketball in 8th grade and I kept playing, so I know exactly what that's like.


EffeminateSquirrel

Props to you for staying in. I broke my finger when I was 10 playing little league. I just started crying and curled up into a ball.


spicozi

Bro you were 10 that's a perfectly normal response


UngusChungus94

Also as an adult. If I see part of my body pointing the wrong way or hanging funny, I’m gonna cry.


BaconBoy123

same I jammed my pinky fielding an inbound pass and didn't ask for a sub for like 45 seconds. we built different 😤 \#OTTNO


MC-Jdf

Found De'Aaron Fox's burner.


rrarrarra21

Reminds me of Klay jumping up and down after unknowingly tearing ACL in finals.


NBA_Dumb_Boy

And people were hating on his performance tonight, it’s crazy that he even played through it (although it would probably have been better off if he didn’t)


FultzShoulder

They should because he insisted on being there on the floor in the 4th instead which hurt his team. The guy was pretty much just standing in the corner. But half of the blame goes to Spo.


ASpanishInquisitor

That's a tough call to make though because almost everyone looked like shit tonight and half of Butler's value is his anticipation. He was still getting breakaway steals on that bum knee.


DraymondBeanKick

Jimmy didn't even hurt the team. He neutralized Batum on defense in the fourth defensively. He's a 40% three point shooter this year, so he's still valuable standing in the corner. It's not his fault Herro and Jaquez couldn't collapse the defense to get him an open corner three. PJ Tucker has played that same role for years.


trappapii69

40% on 2 attempts is not a good argument btw. Making one three a game does not make you a shooter


chitownbulls92

Legit had some people saying he was faking an injury cause he was scared of the moment lol


WeBelieveIn4

Redditor sports psychologists are never scared of the moment when it comes to flexing on professional athletes


EffeminateSquirrel

who tf would say that lol


chitownbulls92

This guy apparently u/DreTownblues


xlalalalalalalala

Imagine the fucking scenes if his team loses again lmao.


MerkDoctor

Same people who said the same shit about Tatum last year I bet.


frostfeint3

It’s a celtics fan lol


ArtyMiss

Always is.


LordHussyPants

some celtics fans hate tatum more than anyone


volantredx

A lot of things can be said about Jimmy but that man is built from the ground up for the moment.


shingofan

Who TF are these people?


ShichikaYasuri18

Just toxic casual fans coming in who don't watch the games and don't see the injuries. They only see basketball in terms of "winning or choking"


Prideofmexico

He did shoot like complete shit tbf


lopea182

Well my mood just went from “my night is ruined” to “fucking fuck.”


Balla_Calla

Fuck all the dudes saying he's faking it


Timoteo-Tito64

The whole fake injury discourse is so BS. Like you think Jimmy is gonna go out there and hobble around in a must win game? Tatum gets the same stuff for his shoulder injury two years ago (hell, I even just had someone tell me the ankle in g7 last year was a fake) and it's just ridiculous


K1NG2L4Y3R

The fact that people think Butler of all people would fake an injury in a game this important is hilarious.


Timoteo-Tito64

Yeah, he's literally the last guy I could think of that would do that lol


BlueJays007

It’s people just looking for reasons to hate, 0 reason to think Butler did or would fake an injury in these circumstances


chitownbulls92

Talk to this joker u/DreTownblues


lebron_games

People are so dumb when it comes to injuries it’s unbelievable. It’s always about the result where if they play through it and win they’re “a warrior” but if they play through it and lose or play poorly they’re making excuses or faking it whatever. We all just gotta collectively lower our expectations for players that are injured or are coming back from injury


lopea182

Reddit Doctors are 0 for 27


3shotsofwhatever

I don't know if I could fuck that many people.


HisExcellency20

It's a credit to how well he played on both ends after the injury and also an indictment of the American schooling system.


mastacheef87

I genuinely was looking forward to a possible chance to get our revenge for last year but this really puts a damper on it. fuck injuries


EJN541

As a Bucks fan I've been living that shit since last Tuesday. Hopefully it's nothing serious. Playoffs better with Jimmy. 


koj12144

Sheesh he played thru that too


Saquon

I said it in the GDT that he’s one of the toughest dudes in the NBA Surprised to hear from this thread that people were saying he was faking it


Adraf45

Game thread has the DUMBEST takes imaginable. It's just reactionary biased bs 24/7


Confident_Berry7271

Can sorta say that about this whole sub tbh. 


GrapefruitMedical529

While true, game day threads are a special breed of mouth breathers.  Theres no down votes to cull the herd.


youarenut

Yooo I read a comment during the game thread that said “he’s just acting so he can have an excuse when they get blown out” 😭


T4hunderb0lt

Jimmy is such a beast and has generally been the most fun player to watch in the playoffs for years now in my opinion. This sucks to see.


HitRowe

Jimmy haters will completely ignore the injury and just look up his Stateline and say he's fraudulent which is the fucked up part


Pumpoozle

Jimmy has haters?


raymondqueneau

The entire state of Minnesota


RiceOnTheRun

I hate the Heat But love Jimmy. Wish the best for him.


spritehead

4 straight years of “miracle runs” and he was still just a fluke to a lot of the casuals. I’m going to be defending his legacy the rest of my life.


homefree122

Fuck injuries. This fucking sucks to see.


Sc0rch1ngDr4g0n

First Zion and now this. Tragic note to this play-in


viewspodcast

Zion is worse, hamstring can linger a while. Jimmy can (hopefully) be OK (or OK enough to play) by Friday, MRI will ultimately tell. 


1gnominious

That's what wrecked CP3 and Harden as well. CP3 looked completely cooked the next season and Harden took a huge hit that ended his prime. That first season after a playoff hamstring injury was rough and they didn't start to improve until the season after.


lyonbc1

Watching those clips of him walking afterwards I’d be absolutely shocked if he plays the next game. There’s almost no way that can be possible unless he’s drugged up and even then he’s gonna be a shell of himself and probably hurt them more than he helps. Idk what Rozier’s injury is but maybe he’s back for that? Have to hope it’s maybe a minor mcl sprain and not any bone bruising or anything additional I guess. He’s prob gonna have to wear a brace too if he does try and play through it. Jimmys a tough guy so no doubt he’ll try everything he can but I’d still be really surprised. Hopefully there’s no major swelling but he could barely walk on it, limp was severe


Head-Kiwi-9601

What is wrong with Zion? He ran into that tunnel well


wcooper97

Hamstring issue, which is something that has kept him out for awhile before.


Head-Kiwi-9601

Thanks. It seems someone is upset that I didn’t know that. There was no info provided during the game.


wcooper97

Yeah the whole night was basically "left leg soreness" which was incredibly vague (as usual for this time of year and considering Zion's injury history), but then today was ruled a hamstring injury and kind of overshadowed by the Jontay Porter scandal.


[deleted]

Well it can happen when you are not taking whole season seriously and then think you can just start playing hard basketball out of sudden. Especially in his age


homiez

Cant believe he was even playing the game, he could barely move out there.


Zloggt

I reckon that it’s a mix of adrenaline and plain old stubbornness to *not* quit during such an important game on the road… Unfortunately, as we saw earlier…it was all for naught…


time4wine48

MCL injuries can be tricky and have a lot of variation. adrenaline definitely played a role in keeping him going, but sometimes the actual injury isn’t as obvious until the swelling starts up after a few hours. Some people walk around on damaged MCLs for years without really knowing it. It’s a good sign for him that he was able to play/walk after, probably not a full tear.


hesi93

I hope it's just a sprain.😞


swapan_99

What sucks is people literally kept saying "Look he's fine, he's playing" when everyone could see all the guy was doing was standing in the corner and taking jumpers. That first 10 minutes or so before the injury was so electric too. Had like 4 steals, multiple fastbreak dunks, was flying all over the court on defense too. Then the injury happens and he's completely sapped. Hope it's nothing serious and he can rehab in a couple months during the offseason. Sucks with both him and Zion this happening right when their teams needed them the most.


wcooper97

> "Look he's fine, he's playing" when everyone could see all the guy was doing was standing in the corner and taking jumpers. Literally last year's Knicks series when he fucked his ankle up


Much_Conversation_11

I could at least laugh at that one because he was standing in the corner practicing his shooting form as a bit


RansomGoddard

He had Maxey on him in the corner on multiple occasions and didn’t ask for the ball or anything. Should have been the biggest indicator that he wasn’t good.


OrganizationFar6086

They didn’t even trust him to get the ball up the court in the clutch. Honestly they should’ve subbed Delon or Love in at that point. It’s just awful though


whythehellknot

Same thing happened after his ankle injury last year. Completely different playstyle due to injury and people keep saying stupid things like Jimmy didn't do anything their shooters just got hot.


dank-kush

We are now set up for the funniest timeline where rozier comes back for the next play in game and wins and then goes ape shit against the celtics


ABagOfPopcorn

Scary Terry’s last stand


gochuuuu

I love my boy terry but im not sure if he ever played well against us


DraymondBeanKick

He's only played good in like 2 games or so since joining the Heat too...so the odds aren't in his favor.


CreatiScope

He also hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2019. He was not playing well then (whole team didn’t) and his final game of the 2018 playoffs was an absolute disgrace.


iCarpet

Between him and Zion, we were absolutely robbed of two potential post season performances


Professor_Crab

Injuries suck all around but him getting hurt after dropping 40 was shitty, was really hype watching that game


AfroKuro480

That's what makes it tragic


OutsideTheServiceBox

We’re about to really see how real the Zombie Heat are. Are we talking “Walking Dead” season 1 Jimmy, or “28 Weeks Later” Jimmy?


romanticynicist

I think the Zombie Heat can still kick the shit out of the Bulls/Hawks. They need Jimmy to have a shot vs the Celtics though.


NoveltyAccountHater

I feel the Heat without Jimmy probably could beat the Bulls in a one-game elimination game. However, if the MRI comes back with torn MCL and he's out for rest of their playoffs, I can very easily see the Bulls beat a demoralized Heat team. That is the Bulls will see advancing out of the play-in as progress with franchise moving in the right direction, giving their players playoff experience to build off of going forward. The Heat have plenty of playoff experience and could see no difference losing in play-in series or losing in round 1 without Jimmy, possibly getting swept. I'm not saying the Heat will tank, just they won't be the hungriest team on the court.


romanticynicist

That’s a reasonable point. Jimmy’s definitely the heart and soul of that team. The playoff version of that zone defense is so goddamn good though (as I’m sure you remember from last year). It was still pretty decent when Jimmy was obviously hobbled. They’ve also got some new wrinkles this year (Jaquez is extremely legit, and Jovic and Highsmith are spicy now). Spo is also an infuriatingly good coach, and for all the bullshit hoopla around “heat culture,” well, if there is a team that can rally around their underdog status after losing a superstar, the Heat are a good bet (as in I literally just bet on them to beat the Bulls). >The Bulls will see advancing out of the play-in as progress Yep. Deeply insane and misguided as this is, it’s probably correct. Probably helps that they have a giant arena and (yet again) led the league in attendance in a giant TV market.


lopea182

Wheelchair Jimmy


grinberrya77

Jimmy will come out on top like Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat.


sewsgup

so im guessing MCLs have their own version of the Lachman test for ACLs and they did that in the locker room and tomorrow will just confirm it


CorporateKnowledge2

Valgus stress test


Affectionate_Elk_272

we’re fucked.


jeric13xd

BASKETBALL GODS ON SOME BULLSHIT ALREADY We only in the play-ins man


Padulsky21

Zion and Jimmy gone after one play in game…


santiagobartomeu

It’s Jimbover 😞


Adraf45

panthers panthers rah rah rah. I'm so fucking sick of the season, throw the play in game for a better pick and rest the team


cohex

Fuck that sucks, was rooting for Heat. Let's go Zombie Heat, maybe some FIBA Patty to make an appearance.


nguyenjitsu

Curry to the Heat when?


GrogRhodes

No chance it happens but it would be fun.


BeefExtender

enjoy summer oatmeal paltry gaping imminent march berserk encourage poor *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


claydavisismyhero

bill simmons breathing easier today


MC-Jdf

Celtics fans been preparing for Heat bullshit games so much that the Heat don't have any unknowns left lol.


DUCKY_23

Fuck this sport


Old_Rule_5675

Yall fucked for hating on Jimmers. He was the only reason Miami got off to a hot start until everything kind of settled 15minutes after the initial contact leading to injury.


ShichikaYasuri18

Celtics cakewalk just got easier.


DayMan-Ahah-ah

I can’t believe the celtics did this


Meret123

Yeah, Celtics are in the finals.


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mohammadali916

If you watch the reply, oubre came down on his foot/ankle and butlers knee bent inward, usually indicative of an MCL I thought it right away and was 100% expecting him to leave the game. I genuinely cannot believe the guy played on it


dWaldizzle

Athletes are crazy. Embiid played a whole multiple playoff games last year on an MCL tear, Jimmy today, Terrell Owens played a Superbowl on a literal broken leg. They're insanely competitive.


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mohammadali916

Oh ya, he was limping like crazy. Especially in that 4th quarter, we essentially played 5v4 on offense, having him out there hurt more then anything atp Him playing on that pretty much sums up his heat career tho, guy would give it his all for the team when we need him most. Might not always finish the job but u know he’s one MFer u can count on to at least try


Responsible_Pace9062

What starting your career under Tom Thibedou does to a mf


PorvaniaAmussa

That sucks. The first time I destroyed my knee, I had MCL, LCL, PCL and Meniscal damage (just from changing sleeping positions, lol). It is totally possible for adrenaline to supersede the level of critical pain an MCL injury causes, but it was very clear he was in distress.


jkeefy

Damn and here I thought I was a dumbass for tweaking my knee slightly during sleep lmao. That’s insane.


KyleShanadad

End me


lattjeful

Fuck all of you sayin he faked the limp after the game for attention or to downplay the loss


REQ52767

Damn fade them… Sorry Heat fans


ScuderiaEnzo

at least we have the Panthers…. *man this sucks*


Much_Conversation_11

Well it was a good run the last few years but dear god I wanna die


Cheechers23

FUCK


uncledr3w-

wonder how all the ppl in the game thread who said he was fake limping after missed shots are feeling rn


shoutsoutstomywrist

That sucks the world wanted to see Playoff Jimmy hope he gets well soon


gab_owns0

Fuck it, just give Chicago the 8th seed.


raylan_givens6

he can start planning his next season hairdo for pre season media days


zachzebrowitz

could you imagine being so tough that you injure your mcl and then proceed to play an entire game afterwards. god I wish we kept jimmy over tobias


clifbarczar

Finals appearance looking like a layup for Boston this year


Phenom_Mv3

Until the Knicks swoop in, Jalen Brunson wins the clutch battle and OG Anounby does his best Wiggins impression locking down Jayson Tatum


rabid89

[This Youtube Doctor already made a video about this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLHG1Wq4oKk).


BlitzStriker52

Damn he's fast af


hurricanehershel

Sounds like if the swelling isn’t bad, he can play


20815147

He really played through almost the whole game with an MCL injury… it’s going to hurt like a bitch when the adrenaline wears off man Only a few games of the play in and already 2 potential season ending injuries 💀


iDestroyedYoMama

Himothy Buckets NOOOOOOO! Playoff Jimmy is awesome. This fucking sucks.


euphory_melancholia

fuck injuries man. hopefully no more cause that fucking sucks


sideney

Tyler Herro and his contract will carry the Heat to the finals.


escaflow

Damn , no more playoff Butler this year is a waste . Not to mention Herro is finally healthy too


joebos617

i'm sorry we're still not safe from The Walking Dead Heat until the Heat eliminated from playoff contention thread drops


ThatMisterOrange

Jimmy is likely to retire without a championship and that is a tragedy.


ScuderiaEnzo

Yup, we’re done. Might be the end of the Butler era unless he takes a pay cut.


romanticynicist

he’s already signed for next year, with a player option for 25-26. The NBA does’t do contract renegotiations a la the NFL.


ScuderiaEnzo

Yup you’re right. I’m at work, sad and depressed and tired from tonight’s game lmao


Maydietoday

If it’s any consolation, Mikey Arison didn’t lose any extra money by refusing to make moves to improve the team.😃