Stephen A. Smith’s latest hot take on Jimmy Butler will surely cause some furor. The NBA analyst called out the Miami Heat star ahead of their Monday night Game 5 matchup against the Denver Nuggets, who are 3-1 at the moment.
Despite Butler being phenomenal in the playoffs, Smith took shots at the forward. “I know he’s a star but there’s levels to this. We’ve talked about him in such glowing terms that you almost felt like you’re talking about [Jimmy Butler] in the same breath as a LeBron James, as the Kevin Durants of the world. Hell, like even the Devin Bookers of the world. No, he’s not those guys,” Smith said on First Take.
“When I talk about the elite dudes offensively, Jimmy Butler is not a name that comes to mind. Superstars don’t depend on officials [like the Heat star does.] They’re gonna get the ball in the bucket no matter what. And when you talk about those stars that I’ve mentioned, the Steph Curry[s], the LeBron James, the Kevin Durants of the world, or even to a lesser degree, the Devin Bookers of the world, when you talk about preeminent stars in this game, that’s not what you need in order to get points.”
"There's no question about the fact that he's a star… But when I talk about the elite dudes offensively, Jimmy Butler is not a name that comes to mind."
Stephen A. Smith says Jimmy is a star, but NOT a superstar 👀
(via @FirstTake)pic.twitter.com/kqhsrzNg5H
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 12, 2023
It’s outlandish at best not to call Butler a superstar, given his playoff record. While they haven’t translated to championships, he has single-handedly taken the team across the finish line to get to the NBA Finals.
It remains to be seen if Butler will respond to this in the one way he knows best. The Heat star has always been the player who cannot be counted out, and should he indeed manage to keep the time alive in the Finals, chances are Smith will have some volley of words heading his way from the forward.
Jimmy Butler Says He Cannot Appreciate The Heat’s Playoff Run If It Doesn’t End With Them As Champions
Not the one to mince words, Butler by his own admission, was blunt when he said he could not appreciate the team’s playoff run if it didn’t end with the Heat as champs.
“At the beginning of the year, we talked about winning a championship, competing to get to this point, so that’s always the goal with the Heat. It’s about winning, not individual anything. It’s about holding that trophy collectively, as a unit to be the best team. That’s where we’re at. All the odds, the eighth seed, none of that matters. It’s two really good basketball teams. One of them has to get one win, the other has to get three. Let’s hope the other can get the three.”
It’s not easy to come back from a 3-1 deficit, but the Heat can maybe take a leaf out of the Celtics’ book, who bounced back after trailing 3-0 but went down in Game 7. Maybe, the Heat under a level-headed Butler can change the momentum.
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