Why "Playoff Jimmy" Always Gives Miami Heat A Chance In The East
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler on most game nights during the regular season is just another All-Star.
Once mid-April hits, Butler morphs into his alter ego. He becomes "Playoff Jimmy," the player who gives the Heat a chance against team in the postseason.
Last year he averaged 27.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 17 games in the playoffs, leading the Heat to within one victory of the NBA Finals. .
"When we think about last year, them going to the Eastern Conference finals they were a Jimmy Butler pull-up three away from advancing to the NBA Finals," ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins said on a recent appearance on NBA Today. "And when I think about Jimmy Butler, look, he's not your typical regular season superstar player but when it comes to the postseason he instantly becomes a top five player in the league."
Butler flourished in all but one of his three playoffs with the Heat. He averaged 22.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists during the run to the 2020 Finals before struggling when the Heat were overmatched the following season in the first round against the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks.
With so many doubting the Heat because they sit in the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference, you can bet Butler is ready for another impressive playoffs showing.
"We have 23 (games) to go get to where we need to get to," Butler said before the All-Star break. "It's all about being healthy, which going into this break is going to do for us. Come out swinging for the fences in the right way, staying together knowing that reinforcements are on the way, getting our guys back and then it gets real."
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