The walking wounded

It's either Miami or Chicago, both are already beaten up

We’re one step closer to knowing who the Boston Celtics will face in the opening round of the playoffs. The Philadelphia 76ers have secured their spot against the New York Knicks. The Atlanta Hawks’ season is over, and now they can begin deliberating between keeping Trae Young or Dejounte Murray.

That leaves the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls. They will go head-to-head on Friday. Lose, and your season is over. Win, and you’re in game one of the playoffs against the Boston Celtics on Sunday. Not much time to create the game plan. And not much turnaround for you to recover after what will undoubtedly be a slobber knocker.

What’s worse. Both teams are banged up. The Miami Heat are missing Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson. Now, it appears that Jimmy Butler has sprained his MCL. The Chicago Bulls are missing Alex Caruso. DeMar DeRozan has been run into the ground this season, too — what, with all the minutes he’s been playing.

With another game to go, neither team projects to make the playoffs at anything near what would resemble total health. Instead, they’re hobbling into a series against arguably the best team in the NBA. A team that has been dominant on both sides of the floor. A team with a point to prove.

---

Some thoughts on the Heat

As things stand, we don’t know how bad Butler’s injury is. MCL sprains aren’t usually something you can overcome in 48 hours, but there’s yet to be any confirmation that is what he’s dealing with. We will likely find out later today.

Still, Erik Spoelstra had this to say after the game.

“He’s putting himself out there and I really appreciate him for that competitive spirit,” Spoelstra said about Butler after Miami’s loss to Philly. “It really stiffened up on him in the second half... it started to limit him a little more. We have no idea right now, we'll see when we get back to Miami."

Butler missed 22 games for the Heat this season. We have a decent sample size of how the team looks when he’s not part of the rotation. We can factor in the minutes when he goes to the bench, too.

According to Cleaning The Glass, Miami has totaled 3,683 possessions without Butler this season. They’re -2.5 pointer per 100 possessions worse when he’s out of the rotation.

Here are some more stats from non-Butler lineups this season. It would appear their offense takes the biggest hit, so let’s look at those numbers first.

• They rank in the 26th percentile points per 100, averaging 110.8.

• They rank 24th percentile NBA for effective field goal percentage, shooting 52.7%

• They’re in the 30th percentile for offensive rebounding, securing 1/4 missed shots.

If you’re curious about joining the paid ranks, why not try a 7-day free trial?

Or, if you’re ready to take the jump, why not take advantage of the limited-time special offer of 40% off your first 12 months, either via yearly or monthly plans. This offer ends on April 21.