Erik Spoelstra outlined what made Jimmy Butler a crucial part of their unit after his Game 5 heroics saw the Miami Heat eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks from the first round of the playoffs.
“He competes to win,” the Heat head coach said. “That’s a different language. And he’s desperate and urgent, and maniacal, and sometimes psychotic about the will to try to win…and that’s why he is us and we are him.”
"He competes to win. That's a different language. And he's desperate, and urgent, and maniacal, and sometimes psychotic about the will to try to win…and that's why he is us and we are him."
— Erik Spoelstra on Jimmy Butler postgame
Watch his full postgame presser 👇 pic.twitter.com/YPk7jjkdHH
— FanDuel Sports Network Florida & Sun (@FanDuelSN_FL) April 27, 2023
Butler’s 42 points, coupled with 8 rebounds and 4 assists saw the Heat win 128-126 in overtime. Ably assisting him were Gabe Vincent and Bam Adebayo with 22 and 20 points respectively.
The forward’s performance comes on the back of his monster 56-point Game 4 that helped the Heat go up 3-1. His stellar form continued in the next game, and his dogged approach paid off as the side booked a semifinal berth against the New York Knicks.
For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 38 points and 20 rebounds but had some questionable bad plays in the fourth quarter and OT.
Jimmy Butler Jokingly Denies The Existence Of “Playoff Jimmy”
Such has been his performances in the postseason for some time now, that Butler has rightly earned the moniker, ‘Playoff Jimmy’. But the Heat superstar jokingly denied that such a version of him existed.
Speaking to the media on the back of their Game 4 win, Butler dismissed the theory with a smile. “It’s not a thing,” he said when asked if ‘Playoff Jimmy was real. “It’s not. I just be hooping.”
His hooping has been instrumental for the Heat. The playoffs so far have him averaging 7.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. To lend more perspective, he is averaging 29.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in the 21 playoff games he has played since last season.
Should he continue in the same vein, the Knicks will surely have their hands full in guarding Butler. Both teams will play Game 1 at Madison Square Garden. And Miami will hope that ‘playoff Jimmy’ and his psychotic mindset will be present to take the team through another challenging series.
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