Jimmy Butler put up a show against the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the 2022 Eastern Conference finals. The veteran player once again showed why he’s one of the best players in the NBA right now, leading his squad to a comfortable win over the Greens thanks to his 41-point explosion.
The Miami Heat superstar is playing with a chip on his shoulder and he won’t rest until he wins the championship. Two years ago, he was closed to winning the championship, but LeBron James and his Los Angeles Lakers had different plans, winning the title in the infamous Orlando bubble.
He’s once again trying to reach the promised land with his team, and things started pretty well for him. He’ll have another chance to beat the Celtics tonight and make another statement, but the job won’t be easy.
Well, that doesn’t seem to be a problem for Butler, as he might have more than one reason to compete at the highest level to win the 2022 championship. According to Chris Broussard of Fox Sports, Butler is trying to make a statement in front of the new generation, beating them on behalf of the old guard:
"Jimmy Butler sonned the Boston Celtics. This is a theme that's carried with him in this playoffs — Trae, Maxey & Embiid & in the ECF, Tatum. … The young guys are coming up. Jimmy is carrying the torch for the older generation, saying 'not just yet.'" — @Chris_Broussard pic.twitter.com/4K5ijjqkdc
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) May 18, 2022
“Jimmy Butler sonned the Boston Celtics. This is a theme that’s carried with him in this playoffs — Trae, Maxey and Embiid and in the ECF, Tatum. … The young guys are coming up. Jimmy is carrying the torch for the older generation, saying ‘not just yet.'”
It’s true that this year, older players like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving couldn’t have a deep playoff run in the East. Instead, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, and Jayson Tatum competed to be in the ECF. On the other side, a young star like Luka Doncic willed the Dallas Mavericks to the WCF, beating veteran Chris Paul in the process.
Butler could face Luka in the Finals in some sort of duel against the ultimate boss. Yet, Luka lost the first game of his series against a team with… veterans. The Golden State Warriors looked very solid against the Mavs on Wednesday and they could be a huge obstacle for Butler and co. on their way to the title. We still need to wait and see the development of these two series, but it looks like we have two similar situations in both conferences.
