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Jimmy Butler has mostly shown no fear against the best defenses that Eastern Conference teams have tried to throw against him. He even trolled the Boston Celtics’ strategy of putting Grant Williams on him.
There was one thing, though, that scared the newly-named Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP, a bumblebee.
"Oh my god. Y'all saw that? God damn bumblebee."
Basketball fans could easily see that “Jimmy Buckets” didn’t want to have anything to do with that bee. It’s an entirely different story against the teams he has faced in the playoffs though, particularly this year.
Next up for the six-time All-Star and the Miami Heat will be the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals. Denver may not have a bee on their team, but they have a roster filled with players who can sting the Heat to oblivion.
The Nuggets will be led by two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who spearheaded Denver’s clinical sweep of LeBron James and the LA Lakers. Denver eliminated the Lakers in four games behind Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown.
Denver may have been the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, but many saw them as underdogs against the LA Lakers and the Phoenix Suns.
They’ve only made believers out of some fans after drubbing the Hollywood squad in the conference semis.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler refused to answer when asked about the Miami Heat’s plans against the Denver Nuggets. They trust head coach Erik Spoelstra and the coaching staff to come up with something to get them ready in two days.
Jimmy Butler could get much-needed reinforcement in the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets
What made Jimmy Butler’s performance against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round even more spectacular was Tyler Herro’s absence. The former Sixth Man of the Year winner only played in the first half of that game.
Even without Miami’s starting shooting guard, the Heat still eliminated the Bucks in five games.
The Heat’s next two opponents, however, started to capitalize on Miami’s lack of depth and shotmaking. It’s fair to wonder where the Heat would be had Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Caleb Martin not stepped up when needed.
Sans Tyler Herro, the Miami Heat still took a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals but barely came out as winners. Martin deserved a ton of praise for an amazing series.
Even if the undrafted forward continues to give Jimmy Butler support, that may still not be enough against the stacked Denver Nuggets.
Good news is on the way, though, as Chris Haynes had this to say on the latest about Herro:
"Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (hand fracture) is ramping up workouts and is expected to make his return at some point during NBA Finals with Game 3 being the likely target."
Tyler Herro would undoubtedly be a much-needed boost to the Heat and Jimmy Butler as they try to take down the Nuggets.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals is set to take place on Thursday, June 1 at the Ball Arena in Denver.
You may also like to read: "A song of fire and ice" - NBA fans are pumped after the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets are set to face off in the Finals
