Jimmy Butler led the Heat to the NBA Finals but how? #nba ✅ Check out PrizePicks: [ Ссылка ] Promo Code: MJ2K

Jimmy Butler is barely an All-Star, shoots less than 30% from 3, but over and over and over again, we’ve seen the phenomenon known as Playoff Butler, where he becomes the best player in the playoffs **but how? There’s a secret to the madness. We’re going to uncover it together and look behind the jumpshots, the headbutting trash talk, Michael Jordan’s DNA, ok that last one isn’t confirmed to be true. But why the playoffs? How can a guy who barely registers as a top 20 player in the NBA during the regular season where his team also loses a ton of games turn into the best player in the playoffs? I could give a in depth breakdown of the on court Butler which I will, but so much of what makes Butler HIM is mentality so how did he become this psycho?

But by chance, a Marquette assistant coach was at one of his games scouting another player, but got impressed by Jimmy’s athleticism and work ethic. So Butler faxed his acceptance in and Once Butler got the opportunity, he ran with it. He could actually become a pro. Since then, Butler never wanted to go back to his previous life.

That hunger never left and most importantly, Butler learned that if he could just work harder, he would get further even if he didn’t have the natural talent. It’s become ingrained in him which is why we’ve seen masterful performances of Jimmy Butler giving it all and why all these other players with more gifts on paper, teams that are better on paper, have never seemed like a hurdle because Butler knows he can beat them if he just keeps working.

Those Chicago Bulls that drafted him also set an important precedent that would completely transform the way Butler approached the game.

In 2011, Jimmy Butler got drafted and in 2011 Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP in NBA history, but the rest of the team with Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah did not give a F on who you were. If D Rose would miss a defensive rotation, Joakim would look at him and just curse him out. Jimmy was so shook, just listen to his reaction.

So this meant that Butler wasn’t afraid of yelling at teammates on what they did wrong and expected his teammates to do the same, which is how we got the iconic Timberwolves practice in which Butler took the 3rd string, beat Karl Anthony Towns, Zach Lavine, and the rest of the starters, yelled that you Fing need me and was doing an interview with Rachel Nichols 30 minutes after on ESPN all to prove a point.

And while we saw the beginnings of Playoff Butler on the 76ers because Embiid respected Butler enough to go along with that blatant team style, the Miami Heat and specifically Pat Riley breathed accountability.

It’s why you can find Erik Spoelstra cursing out Jimmy Butler, unafraid and real.

The Heat culture is described at the hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA. It’s why Giannis said the Heat were built for the bubble.

So the Heat and Jimmy were of a similar mind of accountability.

Well Ben Simmons didn’t want Jimmy Butler handling the ball so much so the 76ers made had to make a choice and they picked Ben…nice…

In the 2022 playoffs in the 7 game series against the Celtics, Butler had 41 points, then 29, but all of a sudden 8, 6, 13, and then 47 and 35. Going from single digits to 40 points games, what is going on.

Even against the Knicks, once they were up 3-1, in Game 5, Butler took a bit of a rest day. I was there live and you couldn’t really feel Butler’s presence, probably by design.

Jimmy is aware of his limitations. He continues to play to his strengths of walking you down to the near elbow area until the defense adjusts. If we take a look at playoff Butler highlights over the years, you’ll notice that a lot of his more iconic moments happen with him driving right in the elbow post area.

This is an example of Butler knowing what he can and can’t do. Normally in the playoffs, teams will take away your biggest strength and force you to go to your second or third type of set, but the way the Heat run their actions, they force you to make a choice. He’s able to stay in these pressure areas long enough to read a defense. He’ll slowly keep prodding into open space, especially the baseline area where he’s not afraid to take a jumper or drive from to force help. And according to scouts, he’s just like Kawhi in terms of strength and not getting bumped off his spots.

But this on court stuff isn’t possible without the mentality that if can just outwork his opponent. And so if you ask me why he’s so good in the playoffs, simply put, Jimmy Butler is HIM.

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