Inside The Heat

Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler On Why He Thrives In Postseason: "I Love The Competitive Aspect Of It"

With each big-time performance, Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler adding to his playoffs legacy
Shandel Richardson|
Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler On Why He Thrives In Postseason: "I Love The Competitive Aspect Of It"
Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler On Why He Thrives In Postseason: "I Love The Competitive Aspect Of It"

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Last year some ranked Jimmy Butler's postseason as one of the greatest in NBA history. 

Through four games, he's already on pace to make the sequel better than the original. Butler is averaging 36.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks. 

By scoring 56 points in Game 4 Monday, he became just the sixth player with a 50-point game in the postseason. He joined the likes of Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Wilt Chamberlain. 

"I'm just hooping, playing basketball the right way, taking the shots that the defense gives me, stay aggressive," Butler said. "A lot of shots went in. My teammates kept feeding me the ball, telling me to attack ... When you got teammates like that, good things happen." 

It seems a switch goes off for Butler when the postseason begins. Last year he averaged 27.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 17 games. He led the Heat the 2020 NBA Finals with 22.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists a game in 21 games. 

So what brings out the best of him around this time? 

"I love the competitive aspect of it, I guess," Butler said. "I think this is where all the best players show up and show out. I'm not saying I'm one of those best players. I just want to be looked at as such." 

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here

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