All Signs Pointing Toward Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler Returning For Game 3 Against New York Knicks

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says Jimmy Butler's intentions are to play but his status won't be updated until Saturday before tip-off

The Miami Heat are closer to having their best player back in the lineup. 

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra stopped just short of saying Butler is ready to return from the ankle injury he sustained in Game 1. It caused him to miss the Heat's loss in Game 2. 

“Jimmy is working," Spoelstra said after Friday's practice. "We’ll see. I’ll probably have an update for you at 2:15 (tomorrow during pregame interviews). But don’t hold me to that. We know what his intentions are.” 

The chances of Butler being back in the lineup are highly likely. On late Thursday, he posted a video of him working out on Instagram. Because of the magnitude of the game, it's a good bet to say Butler plays. 

It helped he had three days in between games. 

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here