Is Jimmy Butler playing tonight vs Cavaliers? Latest injury update on Heat forward (Dec. 8) | 2024-25 NBA season

The Miami Heat will host the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Kaseya Center on Sunday evening and star forward Jimmy Butler is expected to take the court for the home team. Butler is off the injury report after struggling with a knee injury last week and will suit up for the Heat as they look to secure their 12th win of the season.

The Heat have been on a roll and a big reason behind their recent success has been the return of Jimmy Butler. After starting the season with an underwhelming 9-10 record, Erik Spoelstra's team secured consecutive double-digit wins against the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns to move back above .500. They currently sit sixth in the Eastern Conference standings.

Overall, Jimmy Butler has featured in 16 of the Heat's 21 games this season. He missed a series of games earlier in the campaign due to an ankle injury and was recently dealing with a knee injury. The six-time All-Star looks healthy since his return and has played an average of 31.5 minutes over his last two games.

Butler put in a solid performance in the Heat's blowout win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. He finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals and shot 8-for-12 from the field.

After competing for 29 minutes against the Lakers, Butler proceeded to play another 34 minutes against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. The 6-foot-7 forward chipped in with 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists to guide his team to a 121-111 win over Suns.

This season, Butler is averaging 19.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.8 apg and is shooting 56.1% from the field.

Jimmy Butler is aiming for his first NBA title this season with the Miami Heat

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler is introduced during pregame ceremonies before a game against the Phoenix Suns at Kaseya Center. Photo Credit: Imagn

After a successful college career at Marquette, the Chicago Bulls selected Jimmy Butler with the 30th pick in the 2011 NBA draft. The pick would turn out to be a major steal for the organization with Butler developing into one of the most complete players in the league over the next decade.

At 35 years old, Butler has put together an impressive resume that includes six All-Star Game appearances and being named to the All-NBA second team. The one thing missing, however, remains an NBA championship.

Butler reached the NBA finals in 2020, but fell short of a ring, losing out to the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2023, the Heat returned to the finals once again, but a dominant Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets team was too strong to overcome. Butler will be hoping that 2025 will be the year he can finally lead this talented Miami roster to a title.