Jimmy Butler confirmed that he was on a great level last night, with a 41-point explosion against the Boston Celtics that led the Miami Heat to take a 1-0 lead in the 2022 Eastern Conference finals. After a tumultuous first half, the swingman took care of business and dominated the C’s in the 3rd and 4th quarters, finishing a big night for him and his team.
Following the game, everybody was in awe of Butler’s performance. Fans had nothing but good things to say about him, and even Skip Bayless called him the best player left in the 2022 playoffs.
Moreover, he received huge praise from his own team, especially head coach Erik Spoelstra. The 2x NBA champion explained why Butler is different than any other NBA superstar and the different approach he has when the playoffs come. Talking with reporters after the game, Spo made a big statement about Butler’s competitiveness:
“Jimmy Butler is an elite competitor,” Spoelstra said, per ESPN. “There’s a lot of guys in this league that are playing basketball. He’s competing to win. That’s a totally different thing, and he does that as well as anybody in this League.”
It was a great night for the player, but Jimmy would admit that he wasn’t looking to get a 40-piece. He just wanted to win and that’s it:
“I don’t do this to score 40 points; I play the way that I play to win,” Butler said following the game. “It just so happened I scored 40, but if I scored 40 and lose, I’m gonna be really ticked off.”
Butler is locked in. He’s been to the Finals only once and the Los Angeles Lakers stopped him from winning the title in 2020. It’s revenge time and Jimmy won’t hesitate to destroy everybody to get his hands on the Larry O’Brien trophy. He started off the ECF with a huge performance. If he keeps this pace, it’ll be hard for the Boston Celtics to beat him and his team.
