"As in all five guys are guarding him... He’d get my vote for MVP" - Jimmy Butler breaks down 3x All-NBA player's game, endorses him for MVP

Miami Heat talisman Jimmy Butler has praised former teammate Joel Embiid for the remarkable 2021-22 NBA season campaign the latter has had. Butler went on to claim that he would give his MVP vote to the Philadelphia 76ers All-Star this year.

Speaking about the challenge of facing the 76ers without the injured Embiid in the Eastern Conference semis, Butler stated (as quoted by the Miami Herald):

“I’m not an analytics guy, but I was told that they’re a much better team whenever he’s on the floor. And that should be. The way that he draws double, triple, quadruple, I think it’s called ‘quint’ teams, as in all five guys are guarding him. And he makes the right plays as well.”

He added:

“But he’s been doing this for a long time. He’d get my vote for MVP. It’s going to be a challenge, but they beat us once without him.”

Joel Embiid suffered a facial injury during the Philadelphia 76ers Game 6 closeout win over the Toronto Raptors. He is currently ruled out indefinitely.

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Jimmy Butler says the Miami Heat wants to play against Joel Embiid

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler wished Embiid a speedy recovery and stated that his team wanted to play against him.

“I feel bad for my guy. Obviously, my former teammate, arguably the MVP of this league. I think I speak for everybody that’s a part of this team, we want Joel to play. We want to go up against them at full strength and prove that we can beat anybody. I hope he recovers well and gets back very, very soon.”

The tie is likely to favor the Miami Heat if Joel Embiid continues to stay on the sidelines. The Philadelphia 76ers have had issues churning out wins in the Cameroonian's absence this season. It will be interesting to see how James Harden and the rest of the 76ers roster play without Embiid against the in-form Heat.

The Miami Heat were excellent in their first-round series win against the Atlanta Hawks. They displayed their defensive prowess in full swing, limiting the Hawks' best player, Trae Young, to only 15.4 points on 31.9 % field goal shooting. Young also shot just 18.4% from 3-point range.

Without Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler and company will have an easier task to limit the Philadelphia 76ers defensively. Given the way they shut down an impactful player like Young, it seems more than realistic to assume they can take on the inexperienced Tyrese Maxey and the struggling Harden.