Brian Windhorst spoke on ‘The Hoop Collective’ show recently, where he discussed Jimmy Butler‘s final year of his contract. He expects Butler to have a great season, showing incredible focus and a killer mentality to prove himself to the Heat front office and the NBA as a whole as he looks to earn what could be his last major payday in the NBA.
“Here’s the thing. Jimmy Butler not extending and basically saying ‘I’ll be a free agent next July’, whether that is true or not, remains to be seen. He has a $52 million player option in the last year of that deal… Jimmy Butler, highly motivated to be a free agent, I think, is a different animal.”
“And the Heat have had absolutely miserable health luck the last couple of years… At times it seems like Jimmy looks for reasons not to play. And maybe that will be the prevailing situation. But I believe Jimmy is going to be in killer mode to try and prove himself to the Heat and whoever else in the league.”
(51:10 onwards)
A highly motivated Jimmy Butler could spell danger for the rest of the Eastern Conference. Butler is perhaps one of the most mentally resilient players in the NBA, and if he is locked in, as he has shown in the past, he can absolutely destroy teams in front of him, no matter how stacked.
The Heat’s playoff runs in 2022 and 2023 show that Butler can at times single-handedly carry teams to success in the playoffs. In 2022, Butler, along with Bam Adebayo, took the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals, and only lost in Game 7 to the Celtics, after Butler missed a difficult shot to take the lead in the final seconds of the game.
And in 2023, the Heat absolutely shocked the NBA world, as they eliminated the Bucks, 76ers, and the Celtics – the three standout favorites in the Eastern Conference – en route to the NBA Finals. What was shocking about that run was that Butler and the Heat defeated teams with multiple superstars and key role players in this run.
Could Jimmy Butler Lead The Heat In Another Shock Run?
Jimmy Butler and the Heat are far from the favorites in the East. They are easily behind teams like the Celtics, Knicks, 76ers, Bucks, Cavaliers, and the Magic. But Butler is perhaps the greatest playoff riser in NBA history, as he elevates himself to a different level when the postseason begins.
Since joining the Heat, Butler’s numbers in the regular season and the playoffs tell the story of two different players. In the regular season with the Heat, Butler averages 21.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists. In the playoffs, Butler averaged 24.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.7 assists, which is a marked scoring improvement.
If players like Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo can stay healthy and perform at their ceiling, the Heat will surprise a lot of fans, and make some noise in the Heat. But given the Heat’s history with injuries, that is a big if.
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