Jimmy Butler has carried the Miami Heat on his back for much of this postseason but he hasn’t quite been at his best recently.
The dip in Butler’s production is a big reason why the Boston Celtics have roared back from down 3-0 to tie the series and after the Heat lost Game 6, Butler took responsibility for the defeat.
“Let them know that as good or as bad as we played tonight, we still lost,” Butler said when asked how he will keep the team mentally in it after a brutal loss like this. “So, we still got a job to do at the end of the day and we will be in this thing together, home, away, on the road. Like I told the guys on the bench, I told the guys in the locker room that if I play better, we’re not even in this position. Honestly speaking. And I will be better and that’s what makes me smile because those guys follow my lead, so when I’m playing better, I think we’re playing better as well.”
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Butler was a no-show in the first three quarters, as he scored just 9 points on 2-15 shooting from the field. In the fourth quarter, however, he scored 15 points and nearly led the Heat to victory. His final three points came in the form of clutch free throws to give Miami a 103-102 lead, but Derrick White’s putback at the buzzer following a miss from Marcus Smart gave the Celtics the win.
He played great in the fourth quarter to finish with 24 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and a steal but you do wonder if there’s something wrong with Butler at the moment. The elevation isn’t quite there and he has been blocked quite a few times in these last few games and that wasn’t happening in the first three. It could be that the ankle he injured earlier is bothering him, or he is just running out of gas after carrying such a heavy load this postseason.
Erik Spoelstra Boldly Guaranteed His Team Will Win Game 7
Whether there is something wrong with him or not, Butler needs to find a way to have a big night on Monday, or else the Heat will become the first team in NBA history to lose a series after going up 3-0. Head coach Erik Spoelstra guaranteed the Heat will win the game and he’ll be counting on his superstar to deliver the goods.
This series, of course, went to seven games last season as well and Butler had 35 points on that night in Miami. He’ll need to be even better this year, as the game will be in Boston this time around and his fourth-quarter performance would give the Heat and their fans hope that he can do it.
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