After the Boston Celtics pulled off a stunning win in Game 1 of the NBA Finals over the Golden State Warriors, it is easy to forget just how different things could have been right now if one shot had gone in. That shot, of course, was Jimmy Butler’s late 3-pointer with the Miami Heat down 98-96 with 17 seconds left in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Many have since then chimed in whether Butler made the right decision back then with Draymond Green, stating that it shouldn’t have been taken. Someone who does agree with Butler taking that shot is Charles Barkley and he spoke about it on the ‘Dan Patrick Show’.
“I mean, he’s the only reason they were alive in this series and it is a wide-open 3. So, I had no problem with it. Hey Jimmy Butler, he proved to me man, he’s a stud man. What he did in Game 6 and tried to do in Game 7, got nothing but love and respect for Jimmy f’in Butler as I call him.”
“I had no problem with Jimmy taking the shot and if he makes the shot we’d be having a different argument. We’d be saying damn Jimmy Butler we need to move him up on the line.”
A majority of the people did tend to agree with Barkley that Butler made the right call there. They probably weren’t going to get a better shot if they allowed the Celtics to settle down on defense, and at the end of the day, he was wide open.
It is also easy to forget that Butler had played every single minute of the game and we doubt he had much left in his legs at that point. He went for the win and as Barkley said, if that shot had gone in, then we’d be having a very different conversation.
