The Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler have been making a ton of noise in the NBA ever since the player joined the team in 2019. Their debut season saw the team make it back to the NBA Finals before being stopped by the LeBron James-led LA Lakers in the 2020 Finals. After a bad season last year that saw COVID and injuries decimate the team, the Heat are back in position to go to the Finals.
They are 1-0 up on the Boston Celtics after Jimmy Butler had a masterclass performance with 41 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks as the Heat made a comeback to beat the Celtics.
Butler’s improvement over his career from being the 30th pick in the Draft has been heartwarming to watch. But it is an incredible work ethic that has gotten him here. An example of the same can be this clip of him working on his ability to control the ball on the dribble.
Butler takes up primary ball-handling roles for his team quite often, especially in the Playoffs. Historically, his teams have performed well with him being the primary facilitator, and you need a crisp handle to be able to perform that role and be guarded by smaller players.
Jimmy goes through cycles of being extremely underrated and this season was another proof of that. Heat’s early exit in the 2021 Playoffs changed the opinion on the Miami team, with their 2020 Finals run being considered illegitimate by many for being a fluke bubble run.
With Butler leading them and an experienced roster around him, Miami will try to stop the Boston Celtics in the Conference Finals yet again, with the last time they faced each other in this round coming during the Heat’s run in the bubble.
