Jimmy butler stats game 6 drivers#
Jimmy butler stats game 6 series#

All he did was turn in the first All-Star season of his career in 2014-2015 and earn a max contract from Chicago. Instead, Butler bet on himself to get a better deal the next summer. The Bulls offered Butler a contract extension after the season, but it wasn’t the money he was looking for. At that point, Butler was still a tertiary offensive option who averaged just over 13 points per game, mostly on cuts, putbacks, and other off-ball opportunities. No one in the NBA played more than Butler the next season as he averaged 38.7 minutes per night. Head coach Tom Thibodeau played Butler 46 or more minutes six times in seven games during his first playoff run in 2013, with Butler acting as the team’s go-to wing stopper against both Joe Johnson and LeBron James.

At the time, it would thought that the Butler pick would be a hit if he could eventually take Ronnie Brewer’s spot in the rotation as a backup wing.īutler didn’t break into the Bulls’ rotation until his second season with the team, and once he did, he almost never left the floor. The Chicago Bulls saw enough in him to take him No. In college, Butler made a name for himself as a tough, defensive-minded wing. After one season of JUCO ball in his native Texas, Butler was still considered just a two-star college recruit, but Marquette coach Buzz Williams saw enough to offer him a scholarship. Butler never had that luxury.Īfter an upbringing fit for a sappy Hollywood movie, Butler couldn’t land a scholarship out of high school. He was given the role of ‘star’ on every team he ever played for because his talent demanded it.

Jimmy butler stats game 6 drivers#

Tatum had the size, the shooting, the handle, the agility, and the athleticism that separates NBA stars from their peers all by the time he got his drivers license. After he led USA Basketball to another gold medal in a youth competition in 2015, I wrote that Tatum had the basketball world in the palm of his hand a year before he would set off for Duke. Tatum was already considered a future star from early in his high school career.

Jimmy butler stats game 6 series#

If you’re looking for that, go no further than the stud lined up across from him in this series - Jayson Tatum. When the lights are the brightest and the stakes are the highest, Butler has a singular ability to will his team to victory.īutler doesn’t look anything like a traditional NBA superstar. In fact, all five of the 40+ point games Butler has had with the Heat have come in the postseason. This was Butler’s third 40+ point scoring performance of these playoffs after not scoring 40 or more once during the regular season. It was the sort of two-way playoffs masterpiece Butler should be known for at this point. It felt like Butler swung the game himself during Miami’s monstrous third quarter with back-to-back ‘pick six’-style steals and finishes. He did it in 41 minutes while being a game-high +25 on the night. The veteran wing finished with 41 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three blocks - a line that has never been seen in NBA playoffs history. The Heat finished off a 118-107 win in Game 1 behind an incredible effort from Butler. When they came out for the second half, Butler showed he had other ideas. Given the circumstances, it was easy to give Boston the early coronation so many already thought they were destined for as the teams headed into the locker room. Yet through the game’s opening half, Boston was in complete control, with Jayson Tatum’s explosive scoring outburst pacing the Celtics to an eight-point halftime lead. The Heat were the underdog coming into the series despite having home court advantage, and they couldn’t afford to drop Game 1 in Miami with the Celtics down two starters. With that opportunity came a heightened pressure. Butler’s Miami Heat were given an unexpected gift pregame when it was announced both Marcus Smart (sprained foot) and Al Horford (COVID) were set to miss the opener for Boston. Jimmy Butler has always needed a certain amount of tension to be at his best, and he found it in Game 1 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.