NEWSLETTER
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat got the job done on Friday night.
Despite having to play two Play-In Tournament games before entering the playoffs as an eight-seed, the Miami Heat are one series win away from going to the NBA Finals. The veteran-laden team took down the New York Knicks in the semifinals. in just six games, winning Friday night’s contest 96-92.
Unsurprisingly, Butler led the way in their final victory, scoring 24 points with 8 rebounds and 4 assists. This included two huge free throws with 14.4 to go to give Miami a two-possession lead. With that said, Butler shot just 7-22 from the field was indicative of the ugly back-and-forth affair. Miami shot just 40.2 percent from the field on the night, but they were able to hold the Knicks’ offense to an even worse 38.2 percent. Jalen Brunson of the Knicks led all scorers with 41 points.
Butler will now head to his THIRD Eastern Conference Finals of the past four seasons. Of course, the last time they got there against the Boston Celtics, they took care of business in six games and went on to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the championship game during the NBA bubble. LeBron James and Anthony Davis would go on to take home the crown.
As I’ve said before, it’s hard not to be a little bitter watching Butler continue to push his way through the postseason, especially this year. Not only was he the one to kick his former team – the Chicago Bulls – out of the playoff picture, but he also went on to take down Chicago’s central division foe – the Milwaukee Bucks – with relative ease. While I completely understand he went through two more teams before ending up in Miami, it’s still extremely difficult not to ask “what if?”
Anyway, I look forward to watching Jimmy G. Buckets try to continue a stellar playoff run in the next round. We’ll learn who he’s set to play on Sunday when the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers face off in a Game 7.
