Is Jimmy Butler playing tonight? Exploring Heat superstar's availability vs Hawks | 2024 NBA preseason

Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat take on the Atlanta Hawks at the Kaseya Center on Wednesday (Oct. 16) as part of their back-to-back preseason skirmish. They come off a 120-117 win over the San Antonio Spurs at home and will host Trae Young and co. in their penultimate preseason game. The Heat are 2-1 in their warmup matchups so far.

Butler took the floor against the Spurs and logged 23 minutes of playing time for 12 points, four rebounds, one assist, three steals, and a block. After playing in the two preseason games, whether the Heat think-tank will rest their starters, mainly Butler in a back-to-back preseason game remains to be seen.

ESPN's injury report does mention the 6x NBA All-Star on their list at the time of writing. This would mean Jimmy Butler is expected to play, although there are chances it may be on a minutes restriction against the Hawks. Considering it is a home game for Miami, Butler playing the game makes sense as the team looks to hit the straps early on.

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Jimmy Butler makes his intentions clear about playing the maximum number of games in upcoming season

Earlier, Jimmy Butler made it clear he wanted to play as many games as possible this season to help the Miami Heat stay in contention for a title. He followed it up by playing two of the three preseason games played so far. The versatile forward played against the Charlotte Hornets and the Spurs next. With the intent to suit up, he will likely take the hardwood against the Hawks on Wednesday.

This comes as welcome news for the Heat after they missed their superstar for 20+ regular season games for the third time in four seasons due to injuries and other reasons. Butler was also a major name absent in the team's disappointing first-round exit at the hands of the Boston Celtics in the past season's playoffs. He suffered an MCL in his right knee during the play-in skirmish against the Philadelphia 76ers and has been sidelined since.

Butler ended his last season averaging 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks. Numbers-wise, it was the first dip in form he experienced since averaging 19.9 points per game in his first season with Miami. In his five seasons with the Heat, Butler has never played beyond 60 games. Only time will tell if the All-Star forward can make a difference for the side this edition.