"We got another leader, an incredible contender, an experienced veteran. Unlike someone like me who can only motivate teammates off the court and in training, he can use his performance on the court to promote his teammates. I can't wait to see him join us. ”
That's what Udonis Haslem said 3 years ago when Jimmy Butler signed with the Miami Heat. He must not have imagined at the time that 3 years later, he would point at Butler's nose and growl: "You are not a leader at all!" Give me quiet or I'll spank your ass! ”
The Warriors, without Curry, Klay and Green, hit a 19-0 surge shortly after the start of the second half, with the Heat calling a timeout, Haslem and Butler yelling at each other and erupting in physical clashes during the timeout, with Spoelstra smashing the tactical board to the floor. That momentary image became the focus of the NBA after the game.
Spoo, who arrived late 30 minutes after the game, called the clash an opportunity at a media conference: "This skirmish will not affect the team's long-term plans. We were beaten so badly today that everyone's disappointment was beyond words. There are moments in the season where you can take your chances and pick yourself up in those setbacks and disappointments. ”
Tough mouths don't solve the problem, and the truth is, the Heat clearly didn't take the chance, losing 6 of their last 9 games (8 of them at home). Two years after leading the Heat to the Finals, Butler finally showed the bomb-bomb side of his character in the locker room.
Half a month ago, Carl-Anthony Towns broke his own Timberwolves record and scored 60 points. When the game was over, Edwards and Beverleys huddled with him and poured ice water over his head while he was interviewed. Immersed in joy, Downs summed up this feeling and couldn't help but think bitterly: "Cool, since graduating from college, the atmosphere of our team has never been so good. My teammates were really celebrating like crazy, which was completely different from how I felt at the time with 56 points. ”
You can hear what Downs meant. Four years ago, Towns scored 56 points in a pivotal playoff scramble, setting a single-game scoring record in Timberwolves history at the time, beating the Atlanta Hawks. After that match, no one celebrated, no one poured cold water on him, no one admitted they had just witnessed a "historic night," according to Downs. Veteran Jamal Crawford was the only one who cared about it, and he told Downs after the game that it was best to keep the jersey he wore for this game and not throw it casually into the laundromat. Butler, the Timberwolves' team leader at the time, didn't even send a congratulatory text message to Towns.
You can see Butler's tough guy with his neck in Downes' memories. Tough guys don't laugh, tough guys don't bend, tough guys bleed without tears, tough guys should have iron hearts. Early in his career, butler's tough guy image in the minds of most of his teammates coincided with the traditional strict father image in East Asian culture, and it was difficult for teammates to hear half a word of praise from his mouth. While playing in Chicago, he publicly criticized the team's young players for not working hard enough and not being focused enough, a move that angered his teammates, coaches and management. Rondo immediately retorted: "When I was a young player, the veterans who brought me would never complain to the media, and they would tell me directly if they had any opinions. The young players in the team should not be blamed, they have tried their best. If there is anyone who should be questioned, it can only be the leader of the team. ”
The same thing happened later in Minnesota, where Butler more than once accused Towns and Wiggins of being "too soft" on the court and on the training ground. The summer he led the team into the playoffs, he publicly expressed disappointment with the team's young players, insisted on being traded, and after being rejected, took espnon's film crew to the team's training ground, leaving the famous golden sentence: "Who is the most talented person on this team?" It's Downs. Who is the most favored person in this team? It's Wiggins. Who is the hardest person on this team to play? It's me! ”
Some say he's only making a fuss because the Timberwolves don't want to pay him a salary. Some people say that the farce was arranged by him with ulterior motives. Others say Butler is a fake tough guy. The evidence is that he is always pointing at each other on the field and chattering at the media off the field, but he has never thrown a punch directly at his opponent as people think. This idea is simple, but unreasonable: in the NBA, tough guys don't necessarily need to swing punches, tough guys only need to lead the team to win.
Butler doesn't care about those bad comments: tough guys have a hard time having friends, especially people like Butler who have a hard mouth.
The Heat have enough championship culture. They have championship management, championship coaches, championship point guards and a championship defensive champion last season. Butler brought the Heat to the Finals in a bubble, and Adeba had about an Olympic gold medal. A few days ago, they were number one in the East. We shouldn't have questioned the choice of this team, but when the details of Butler, Spoogh and Haslem's quarrel were exposed again, it suddenly occurred to everyone that he was also a bad teammate in people's mouth, a cancer in the dressing room, an athlete who always had conflicts with others - but it was not this that, but Butler's hard hand beyond his hard mouth.
For fans who don't watch Heat games, we have to have a little common sense: Since the 2020 Finals, Butler has not scored in all areas 10 feet from the basket. His three-point shooting percentage is 20.2 percent this season, and in the last two months he is 6-of-38. Behind those shocking red crosses is the embarrassment of being emptied again and again but unable to respond. As a result, the Heat's offensive performance was so bad during key periods of all games that opponents simply had to stick to the inside and then keep an eye on the Heat's individual shooters one by one.
It's not that Butler doesn't understand, it's just that he really can't score. His consistent playing style of play in his career has to do with his entry into the league with the 30th pick, known to everyone from a tenacious role player. In the bubble of 2020, he did score some key goals that defined his career, proving that the tough guy is still tough on the big stage at key moments, but that is only a flash in the pan. In last year's series against the Bucks, his poor projection caused the team to suffer a sweep. And this year, his projection has even slipped further.
He still played hard, and his shooting hand was even harder. The tough guy who values dignity and victory for life is not unaware that losing the ball will drag down the team, so he will put more energy into the above work - defending, empty cutting, fast down, starting blocks, making free throws - even if he is 32 years old. The Heat's outstanding performance in the first 70 games of the regular season masked a lot of problems, and only the hardcore Heat fans would start muttering: Why can Hiro stand next to Caleb Martin and Max Strus with the Heat in a state of bravery, and butler's return to the court The Heat's offense plummeted?
Regardless, before his problems fully erupt in the playoffs again, the Heat still need Butler to play and do what he's good at. You shouldn't doubt whether he's a tough guy either: if a guy looks like a tough guy at first glance, speaks like a tough guy, plays like a tough guy in every offensive and defensive round, scolds like a tough guy when he clashes with people, and leads a team like a tough guy, then he's a tough guy.
The tough guy gave every game in his 11-year career, cursing every opponent or teammate who wouldn't let him win. You can question whether his abilities are overrated and his personality is too intense, but you shouldn't question his professionalism, toughness, and competitiveness. Throughout Butler's career, he still acted like a real American Dream reality show that relied on struggle to change his life, and all the teams that owned him played the best results in the years at the time, and the teams that left him declined. If the tough guy is the one who can help the team win on his own, Butler's resume looks as hard as a brick. Later, in the bubble, he brought the Heat to the Finals, which put him on the moral high ground and allowed him to get a four-year, 180 million contract extension last summer. No matter how you look at it, his career is a "winner".
But it's hard to imagine the 36-year-old Butler still earning $52.41 million in the NBA. No matter how hard his past is, it will be like a disaster for our foreseeable future. Such a story has a precedent. There is also an athlete with a single playing style, poor projection, and a young man who relied on physical fitness to play, who has fallen sharply after this season's advanced age, and has been criticized and criticized.
I only hope that by then, there will be no other irrational team that has taken a good name for Butler's career and has unrealistic expectations of him and will bring him to another superstar.