On May 5, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs Heat home to Philadelphia, this game Embiid continued to be absent, the Heat from the beginning to the end, and finally defeated Philadelphia 119-103, a big score of 2-0 lead, the probability of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals was as high as 81%. In this game, Heat leader Butler remained stable, scoring a quasi-triple-double of 22 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals on 8-of-15 shooting. As team leader, Butler played the attitude again, delivering 12 assists in Lowry's absence, connecting the whole team.
At the same time, 12 assists in a single game also allowed Butler to achieve a team record, is the Heat's all-time playoffs more than 10 single-game assists the third most player, the first is Wade's 13 times, the second is James's 7 times, and Butler has now done 5 times, can achieve a second-only Jenway achievement, enough to reflect Butler's excellence.
After the game, Butler also had a greeting with Wade, who came to see the ball at home, and the two embraced and laughed, which was quite a bit of a Heat leader inheritance, and it can be seen that Wade and Butler have a good relationship. As a player, Wade had been teammates with the Bulls and Butler, and now that Wade has retired, Butler has come to the Heat to take on the leadership responsibilities that belonged to Wade in the past. Toughness has always been Butler's personal label, and so has the Heat's team culture, and the collaboration is a perfect interpretation.
In recent seasons, the Heat have played the best performance after the era of James, Wade and Bosh, and every year they are a strong contender for the Eastern Conference Championship, and in the 19-20 season Butler led the team to the Finals, so far this season, the Heat have led Philadelphia 2-0, the probability of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals is more than 80%, and there is also a level of reaching the Finals again or even impacting the championship. Now this Heat, Butler has Lowry, Adebayo, as well as Hiro, Duncan Robinson, Oladipo, in terms of the thickness of the lineup, this Heat is good enough, plus this team has a wealth of game experience and a tough attitude to play, and there is no problem in impacting the championship.
(Lin Xiaoxiang)