Is Jimmy Butler Playing Tonight? (Latest Injury Updates and News for Heat vs. Knicks on March 29)

The Miami Heat are back in action Wednesday night as they face the New York Knicks at 7:30 p.m. ET. One player's status to keep an eye on ahead of tip-off is Jimmy Butler, who was a late scratch in the Heat's last game with a neck injury.

Jimmy Butler Injury Update (3/29/2023)

Butler was not on the original injury report for Miami on Tuesday before being listed as probable mid-morning. The 12-year pro was eventually downgraded to questionable and then downgraded to out as the soreness became too much to bear. He is now listed as doubtful to suit up against New York.

This is a situation that will likely come down to how Butler feels hours or even minutes before tip-off arrives. Neck soreness is something that can go away in an instant or stick around for days at a time. Not having Butler on the court would be a blow for a Heat team that is fighting for playoff positioning.

Miami checks in seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 40-36 record and are 0.5 games back of the Brooklyn Nets for the last playoff spot that doesn't involve taking part in the play-in tournament. Butler has been leading the Heat with 22.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game this year.

Jimmy Butler Fantasy Outlook and Prop Bets Today

Jimmy Butler is listed with over/under of 24.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists on FanDuel Sportsbook's NBA odds, which is a great sign for his availability tonight. Butler may not be able to take on a full workload, though, which makes backing him to log under 5.5 assists an enticing option. He has tallied less than 6 assists in six of his last nine games and is facing a tough Knicks defense.

Butler is also listed among the top options on the FanDuel DFS slate tonight, checking in with the fourth-most expensive price tag among small forwards ($9,600). That should come as no surprise as he averages 42.3 FanDuel fantasy points per game on the season and has a chance to get to the free throw line a ton tonight. After all, New York commits 20.5 personal fouls per game (No. 20 in NBA).

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

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