Inside The Heat

Is It Safe To Say The Miami Heat Miss Jimmy Butler?

Jimmy Butler had another star performance with the Golden State Warriors, while the Miami Heat ended their season after a blowout loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Apr 28, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) holds his back after scoring a three point basket against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter of game four of the 2025 NBA Playoffs first round at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
Apr 28, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) holds his back after scoring a three point basket against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter of game four of the 2025 NBA Playoffs first round at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

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The Miami Heat's season is over after consecutive blowout losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the series sweep.

But former Heat superstar Jimmy Butler is still standing. And strong, too. Butler returned to the Golden State Warriors in Game 4, dropping 27 points, five rebounds, and six assists to put the Warriors up 3-1 in their series against the Houston Rockets. Butler had 14 in the fourth quarter, outscoring all his teammates in the final period.

Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo combined for just 17 points in their elimination game, shooting 15.4 percent from 3-point range.

Miami's mid-season trade of Butler has greatly favored the Warriors. They became one of the best teams in the league with the six-time All-Star, whereas the Heat fell down the conference rankings with each head-scratching performance or blown double-digit lead. And now, Playoff Jimmy is on the brink of elevating Golden State to the second round while the Heat posted arguably the most embarrassing series in franchise history.

Who thought we'd be glaring more favorably at Butler in Golden State than the Lakers getting Luka Doncic?

Okay, that might be a stretch. But in the same breath, the Warriors benefit from this so greatly that it seems like that much of a slam dunk.

The Warriors play the Rockets for Game 5 Wednesday night. We'll see what transactions - or lack thereof - the Heat make this offseason.

MORE MIAMI HEAT STORIES

Miami Heat Fans Left Speechless At Season-Ending Blowout To Cleveland Cavaliers

Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra Maintains Confidence In Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo

Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.


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Jayden Armant
JAYDEN ARMANT

Jayden is a journalism school graduate of Howard University. He was the 2024 recipient of the Terez Paylor scholarship award. He previously worked at the Orlando Sentinel.

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