Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler Bringing Out His Best For The Playoffs
For Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler, it's quite simple.
He plays his best when it counts the most. Through two playoff games against the Indiana Pacers, he is averaging 23 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals.
The stars come out when the lights are the brightest.
"This is the time to really hoop," Butler said after the Heat grabbed a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. "I think this is when I play at my best, to tell you the truth. I'm just willing to do whatever it takes to win. Right now, it's making a couple shots. In the next game, it could be making a couple great passes without turning the ball over."
Butler has the Heat on the verge of advancing to the second round for the first time since 2016. Teammates are getting their first taste of "Playoff Jimmy."
"Probably just a heightened sense of urgency," forward Duncan Robinson said. "He plays the game with so much passion and I think you guys all see that. He did it during the regular season. I will say it feels like it's taken up a notch here. He wants to win. He loves to win and he holds people accountable. Us as his teammates need to learn that not to take that personally but just to be all the way in with him."
In Butler's first season in Miami, he has all but shattered the notion of him being a bad teammate. It was a label he picked up at previous stops in Chicago, Minnesota and Philadelphia.
"He actually more focused and he's doing everything in his power to be prepared for the game," guard Goran Dragic said. "He's studying the game game. You can see he's flying up and down the floor and making great plays for us. He's our leader."
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