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Jimmy Butler and his greatness was mentioned by Stephen A. Smith in Wednesday’s episode of “First Take” on NBA on ESPN. During the episode, Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo joined Smith to speak on how far they believe the Miami Heat can make it in this year's playoffs.
Stephen A. Smith rooting for Jimmy Butler and Miami
With Butler playing as dominantly as he is, Stephen A. showered some praise on him, saying:
“Everybody doesn’t have to be Kobe, everybody doesn’t have to be MJ, some guys have to be glue guys … That’s Jimmy Butler.”
The Miami Heat finished the 2021-22 NBA regular season in first place in the Eastern Conference with 53 wins and 29 losses. Though the full rotation of the team contributed across the board, Jimmy Butler was a dominant contributing factor for the squad.
Butler finished the season having averaged 21.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.5 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. An effective force on both ends of the court, Jimmy has proved to be a large tool for the Heat yet again. Though Jimmy did manage to average above 20 points-per-game this season, Smith is correct, and the most valuable thing about Butler lies beyond his point totals.
Jimmy Butler is the type of support player that most would want on their team. He is the kind of player who can read his team's weaknesses on the court at each moment and fill the spots like glue at his every move. Butler’s basketball IQ is much higher than that of just getting points, though he understands when to read the play and take the court over as well.
We saw Jimmy make a decision like that in his last performance, during Game 2 of Miami’s playoff series against the Hawks. Butler dropped a dominant 45 points in Game 2 of the series to help secure another victory for the Heat and put his team up 2-0 in their series against Atlanta.
Finishing first place in this year's NBA Eastern Conference was no easy feat. Before the year started, much of the conversation for the Eastern Conference finalists had Brooklyn as favorites. As the year progressed and the East got hotter and hotter, the Nets hit turbulence and forfeited their favorite status. As many argued over who would take the reigns as kings in the East, Miami snuck up through the back door and never left.
Jimmy Butler looks to be on a mission this season. After his performance in the 2020 NBA Finals, where his Miami squad lost in Game 6 to the Los Angeles Lakers, many assumed Jimmy and company would come back swinging. Unfortunately, the squad met turbulence last year and was unable to make a return to the Finals.
It looks like this year might be a different story. Butler has been playing as the glue for most of this season, as Miami’s rotational scoring has been phenomenal. But Jimmy’s last performance showed us that he still has that take-over blood in him and can use it just fine.
