The Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler will not play against the Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon because he and his family are grieving the loss of a family member. Due to “personal reasons,” he was deemed “questionable” going into the game and missed practice on Friday and Saturday.
Jimmy Butler has been granted a leave of absence while he deals with the death of a family member, according to a statement issued by the Heat on behalf of Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee. As they deal with this loss, Jimmy and his family are asking for privacy at this time. There will be updates when necessary.
Following seven straight losses, Miami has won four of the previous five games under Butler’s leadership. Butler recently recorded a triple-double against the San Antonio Spurs. But as it should, life outside of basketball has taken precedence.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke before Sunday afternoon’s contest and said that him and the team are “here for him.”
“We’re here for him,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve had two practices without him. We’re grateful we were able to have two practices at this time of the year. We needed to work through some things and obviously we’re playing a quality opponent today and we’re looking forward to that.
So far this season, Butler is averaging 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 50 percent from the field in 37 games played. After today’s game facing the Celtics, Miami will head on the road for six straight games and come back home in the beginning of March.
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