Competition in the East remains fierce this season, with the Brooklyn Nets, which have Durant and Kelly Irving, basically determined to play the playoffs. In the First Group, in addition to the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers led by Joel Embiid and James Harden, there are some teams that have a good fighting ability, such as the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.
While the Heat and Celtics' paper lineups are relatively not as luxurious as the Bucks and Philadelphia, their record is also among the best. In this game, the Miami Heat came behind, playing a 27-15 attack wave in the final quarter, and finally achieved a reversal at TD North Shore Garden Arena, beating the Celtics 106-98 and taking the victory away from Boston. The Heat's Big Three all had a good performance, with Bam Adebayo having a quasi-triple-double of 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and Kyle Lowry also having 23 points and eight assists. Jimmy Butler, who was on the cusp of the storm during this time, also quickly adjusted, and he scored 24 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists on 9-of-17 shooting. In the last game against the Kings, Jimmy Butler also contributed 27 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, so in the past two games, Jimmy Butler had a total of 51 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, and the Heat also returned to the top of the Eastern Conference with this wave of winning streaks.
When it comes to Jimmy Butler, his evaluations are usually polarized. On the one hand, Jimmy Butler's playing career is really inspiring, as a rookie born at the end of the first round, Jimmy Butler was only treated as a blue-collar player at the beginning of his career, and then he ushered in a transformation step by step. So far, Jimmy Butler has been named an All-Star six times, made the Defensive Team of the Year several times, and was named the league's most improved player in the 14-15 season. In addition, from the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves to the Philadelphia 76ers, after losing Jimmy Butler, the record has dropped significantly, which also shows that Jimmy Butler's role on the court is very large.
But on the other hand, Jimmy Butler is not very easy to get along with, and when he leaves from several old clubs, Jimmy Butler does not have a good time with them. Especially during the Timberwolves' time, Jimmy Butler and the duo Carl Anthony Downs and Andrew Wiggins are obviously not the same person, and his remarks have caused the Timberwolves locker room to become a mess to some extent, and in this regard, it can also explain why Jimmy Butler has performed well on the court and seems very inspirational, but it is still questioned.
In the summer of 2019, Jimmy Butler moved to miami heat, and due to the lack of salary space on the team at that time, the Heat got Jimmy Butler by signing first and then changing. In the 19-20 season, Jimmy Butler averaged 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and the Heat simply became the number one dark horse in the playoffs, eliminating the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics all the way back to the Finals stage. Jimmy Butler averaged 22.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals per game, which shows that he is a real big-game player.
Last season, the Heat declined in terms of record due to the loss of personnel and the ups and downs of veteran status, but Jimmy Butler still performed well, averaging 21.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and from the conventional data, Jimmy Butler is even better. So last summer, heat management signed Jimmy Butler an early contract of $146 million for 3 years, which means that if the Heat don't send him away in advance, Jimmy Butler will at least play in Miami until 2026, which is to keep his peak here.
However, some time ago, Jimmy Butler fell into the depths of the water, he returned after a short truce, but the Heat suffered four consecutive defeats along the way. Against the Philadelphia 76ers, Jimmy Butler shot 8-of-15 from the field, but lost all three from beyond the three-point line for 27 points, five rebounds and six assists. Against the Golden State Warriors who lack Stephen Curry, the Miami Heat lost at home, and although Jimmy Butler had 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, he had a verbal altercation with head coach Spollstra and the meritorious old minister Haslem, which became the object of criticism. The Heat then lost consecutive games to the Knicks and Nets, of course, Jimmy Butler's performance on the court was very different, against the Knicks, he scored 30 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, which is considered to be the best effort. Against the Nets, Jimmy Butler was completely blocked by the other side, shooting 2-of-9 from the field, with only 7 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Really tough players never rely on words and body movements, only to play convincing performances, and all doubts will disappear. So in the past two games, Jimmy Butler has performed well and helped the Heat to a winning streak, and his criticism is almost inaudible. In fact, so far this season, Jimmy Butler still averages 21.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, except for only a three-point shooting rate of just over 20%, there is almost no flaw. Although Jimmy Butler has his own problems, the reason why the Heat have made a comeback this season and become a member of the championship group again, Jimmy Butler is obviously the first contributor.