Update: Jimmy Butler out several weeks with MCL sprain

[Chuck Everett]

Zion and Jimmy getting injured during the play-in actually makes a good argument for why the games should be eliminated. The stats don't even count.

[NyKnicks1714]

Serious injury or not, when was the last time a player had an MRI on a knee and played the next game?

[bushybrah_]

We are cooked. Shouldn’t even be in this position to begin with. But we take the regular season as a joke and it completely bites us in the end. Not surprised.

[Charlesareed]

Oubre fall on his leg that has nothing to do with the play in the playoffs usually start April 16/17/18 every year until the play in was introduced so those injuries couldn’t happened in the playoffs injuries happen it’s part of the game

[bushybrah_]

You mean like by not having 2 play-in games completely negate an 82-game season? I agree.

I don’t like the play in but it can be easily avoided by treating the regular season more seriously.

Especially in the East where it’s far less competitive than the West.

What is this nonsense that losses come as a result of not taking the regular season seriously? It's just a lame, mindless cliche. Unless they're tanking, teams try to win and sometimes they lose. All the teams we're talking about took things seriously.

As a Heat fan, you have not watched this team play all season. They’ve done this almost every year the past few years.

[bushybrah_]

And I hate blaming the play in as the issue for injuries. Injuries can happen whenever and wherever. Whether it’s a preseason game, or practice, end of the game or the finals. It doesn’t matter. I’m not using that as an excuse as to why we lost. We didn’t play good enough in the regular season or this game. Plain and simple.

[EmpireFalls]

**** the play in. Seriously.

[EmpireFalls]

And I hate blaming the play in as the issue for injuries. Injuries can happen whenever and wherever. Whether it’s a preseason game, or practice, end of the game or the finals. It doesn’t matter. I’m not using that as an excuse as to why we lost. We didn’t play good enough in the regular season or this game. Plain and simple.

More like a 1 day turnaround from final regular season game to full play-off intensity rather than the usual week long ramp up period is gonna have some unintended consequences…

[NyKnicks1714]

I don’t like the play in but it can be easily avoided by treating the regular season more seriously.

Especially in the East where it’s far less competitive than the West.

What is this nonsense that losses come as a result of not taking the regular season seriously? It's just a lame, mindless cliche. Unless they're tanking, teams try to win and sometimes they lose. All the teams we're talking about took things seriously.

As a Heat fan, you have not watched this team play all season. They’ve done this almost every year the past few years.

I'm not arguing that they don't err on the side of rest, if not excessively so. The conventional system has penalties for that sort of thing: missing the Playoffs or drawing a tougher path. You're top 8 through 82, you deserve to be in the playoffs...and if you think an 8 seed doesn't, you know who's likely to deserve it even less? The 9th or 10th seed.

[ElectricMayhem]

I don't understand the "blame the play-in" crowd. Is the argument that invincibility spells can be cast on the players for the playoffs, but not the play-in game?

[One Last Shot]

You mean like by not having 2 play-in games completely negate an 82-game season? I agree.

I don’t like the play in but it can be easily avoided by treating the regular season more seriously.

Especially in the East where it’s far less competitive than the West.

What is this nonsense that losses come as a result of not taking the regular season seriously? It's just a lame, mindless cliche. Unless they're tanking, teams try to win and sometimes they lose. All the teams we're talking about took things seriously.

It's not a nonsense, Butler said that mainly because they know they can just "turn it on again" during play-in then playoffs like last year.

Read on Twitter

However, Heat star Jimmy Butler said he'd be content with any outcome, as he's confident with his team's ability to compete against anyone.

"I don't give a damn," Butler told Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. "I just love playing basketball. We can beat anybody when we're playing the right way. Play-in, here we come. Playoffs, here we come."


Then he got injured tonight and will be out indefinitely in a game that they can avoid if they take regular season games seriously since the opening night.

[JDR720]

What is this nonsense that losses come as a result of not taking the regular season seriously? It's just a lame, mindless cliche. Unless they're tanking, teams try to win and sometimes they lose. All the teams we're talking about took things seriously.

As a Heat fan, you have not watched this team play all season. They’ve done this almost every year the past few years.

I'm not arguing that they don't err on the side of rest, if not excessively so. The conventional system has penalties for that sort of thing: missing the Playoffs or drawing a tougher path. You're top 8 through 82, you deserve to be in the playoffs...and if you think an 8 seed doesn't, you know who's likely to deserve it even less? The 9th or 10th seed.

The point of the playin is to give those not terrible but also not good teams something to play for. Basically the NBA version of wild card games.

So far, it's generally worked as intended.

People are going to get hurt, that's just how sports works.

[Manimal]

According to this thread, play-in games are substantially more stressful on a player's body than regular season and playoff games are. Learn something new everyday.

[CIN-C-STAR]

What is this nonsense that losses come as a result of not taking the regular season seriously? It's just a lame, mindless cliche. Unless they're tanking, teams try to win and sometimes they lose. All the teams we're talking about took things seriously.

As a Heat fan, you have not watched this team play all season. They’ve done this almost every year the past few years.

I'm not arguing that they don't err on the side of rest, if not excessively so. The conventional system has penalties for that sort of thing: missing the Playoffs or drawing a tougher path. You're top 8 through 82, you deserve to be in the playoffs...and if you think an 8 seed doesn't, you know who's likely to deserve it even less? The 9th or 10th seed.

Yeah the real lesson here is the play-in provides an even bigger advantage for the top seeds.
Which is fine if that's what people want, but they already have a pretty big first-round advantage historically in a 7-game series.

[GrandTheftRondo]

According to this thread, play-in games are substantially more stressful on a player's body than regular season and playoff games are. Learn something new everyday.

Nope. It’s not that at all.

But instead of being a higher seed and maybe being able to ride out a Butler absence, Miami is playing an elimination game to get into the playoffs and will be rewarded if they win with playing the team with the best record in the NBA.

They win more games in the regular season and they’re playing a team they might have a chance against in the first round without Butler.

[Shock Defeat]

Bulls are now in the playoffs

[beeshma]

Tom Thibodeau is to blame.

[Capn'O]

I was really hoping Miami and Boston would beat the living crap out of each other.

[GSP]

Hope its nothing serious but Mcl is no joke. He should take his time and not return for at least a month Imo

[jbk1234]

He not young anymore

And he gets injured, historically, a lot. His injuries have been timely so people aren't shrugging their shoulders like they do with PG and Leonard, but the last season he played 65 games, he started the season in a Wolves uniform.