People have always joked that Jimmy Butler could be Jordan's son.
I hope more and more that this is true.
Today Jimmy Butler scored 56 points.
In NBA history, there are eight people with more than 55 points in a single playoff game, twelve - of which Jordan won five.
In the history of the playoffs, there have been only three people in a single game with more than 55 points in the East, seven - including five for Jordan, one for Allen Iverson and one for Chamberlain.
Jimmy's 56 points in the playoffs today have been done by five people in history, and only Jordan and Chamberlain have done it in the history of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
——If he and Jordan are really father and son, what a perfect story!
The Eastern Conference playoffs alone is said because it is well known: historically the Western style is more open and magnificent, and the Eastern style is more rigid and fierce. The Pistons of Grandpa Daly and Grandpa Brown, the Knicks of Riley and Van Gundy, Riley's own heat, the Big Three Celtics.
In 2009, when Bryant praised the Nuggets for their ferocity, he said that "they have a very eastern style."
Jordan's 63 points against the Celtics "God Wears No. 23" in 1986 had a special background: the Celtics were the first in the defensive league that season, Jordan faced Dennis Johnson of the nine-time defensive lineup, and behind the DJ was the Hall of Famer of Parrish + McHale + Bird + Walton. Larry Bird had already won two regular-season MVPs and was waiting for his third MVP to be awarded.
Jordan took the Eastern Eight Bulls to fight the Eastern Celtics.
Today Jimmy Butler is facing the Eastern Conference boss Milwaukee Bucks, and Giannis has won two regular-season MVPs. Jimmy is facing Holladay of the four-time Defensive Team of the Year, and behind Holladay are the twin towers of Defensive Player of the Year candidates: Lopez + Giannis. Giannis also has two regular-season MVPs.
Jimmy took the Eastern Eight Heat and went to fight the Eastern Boss Bucks.
——If he and Jordan are really father and son, what a perfect story!
The heat opened the game against the Bucks today, trailing 3-10.
Jimmy was feeding Adebayo and Loew first, and seeing that it was about to collapse, he forced Holladay, who had two defensive first teams and two defensive second teams, and saw Lopez in front, so he made a quick stop.
Trailing 8-17, looking to be thrown off by double digits; Jimmy's right wing faced a delay from Middleton and Giannis, and with the ball forced, he dunked one over Giannis's head.
From here on, take over:
Inside, meet Giannis for a layup.
Counterattack, face López with a throw.
Forced to change defenses and face Portis with a mid-range shot.
After Lopez covered Zeller, Jimmy took the ball in the corner and faced Holladay to make a three-pointer.
——The ball itself is not mentioned, interestingly, throughout the round before receiving the ball, he did not have "oh teammates are playing then I stand up straight", he has been posing for this opportunity, full attention.
In the next round, he rushed in with the ball, and the opposite Ingles did not react at all, Portis quickly pushed Ingles, let him delay Jimmy, locked the basket himself, late: Jimmy hit Ingalls to score and add free throws.
Ingles's expression at that time, like a grandpa who wanted to go to the bank to queue up for errands, happened to meet a lone thief, and looked "Where am I?" in the rain of bullets? What happened? Play really? ”
In the first quarter, the heat faced the Bucks' rainstorm offensive and trailed by only 5 points, and Jimmy scored 22 points alone to lead the team through the toughest moment.
In other words, Jimmy has slowly made himself into one over the years, how to say? Well...... Reggie Miller.
- In the regular season, everyone talked about the stars, and finally, "Oh yes, Jimmy Butler is not bad either."
— Playoffs, "When did Jimmy get so hard?" Oh, he's always been so hard... Don't come here! ”
Miller in the 1990s, Pistons in 2003-2008, Celtics in 2008-2012, are the Eastern Conference gatekeepers: if you want to get to the Finals, you have to peel my skin here.
- In 2015, Jimmy + Ross and LeBron + Irving played six games. That was the strongest resistance LeBron encountered in the East that year.
- In 2019, Jimmy played seven games with Leonard in Philadelphia, and finally Leonard ended with a lore: that series, Jimmy was the Philadelphia scoring champion. So after he left, he has been sighing with Embiid: they have always cherished each other.
——In 2020, Jimmy reached the finals and played against LeBron: 26+8+10 against 30+12+9.
- In 2021, the Bucks overheated and won the championship.
- In 2022, he overwhelmed Trae Young, passed Philadelphia, and fought the Celtics Double Jay in the East Finals. A 47-point hit in Game 6 forced the game into Game 7.
So far in 2019, here are the rules:
"Who in the East wants to enter the Finals to compete for the championship, real gold is not afraid of the heat, first let Jimmy Butler test the color!"
Just before today's game against the Bucks, Jimmy was also said to have appeared in doubt: in the third game against the Bucks, he had a big double-digit lead, and he also burst in to challenge the league's first basket guard Gauta Lopez, twisting his foot when he landed.
"What kind of life are you playing if you win?"
At that time, Hersey Hawkins said that Jordan was not only to win, but also to completely kill the opponent.
Hard. Want to win. Out of paranoia and strong self-esteem, keep hitting your opponent until you win.
So Jimmy's morbid and competitive spirit is exactly the same as Jordan. "This man is crazy and doesn't care about anything!"
——If he and Jordan are really father and son, what a perfect story!
In the third quarter today, Jimmy sat on the right waist, hit Allen and Holloday in a row, beat Holloday out of anger, and wanted to return a dragon - was chased by Jimmy and copied away.
There was even an outrageous outsider player who held the ball alone and singled out the Bucks Twin Towers - and scored.
But even though Jimmy was so powerful, the Bucks led until the final five minutes: Jimmy missed an eight-point shot.
At that point, the Bucks thought, "OK, he scored 22 points in the first quarter, then 17 points in two and a half quarters, make do with it, and that's the end of it."
In the next round, the Bucks still used Middleton to defend Jimmy, and Jimmy scored a breakaway for three points: 5 points short.
Lowry cut Holladay's ball, Martin made a free throw, plus then grabbed a rebound in the front court to make up for it; Adebayo copied the ball, Jimmy countered with a dunk to take the lead - he was roaring when he jumped, and after the dunk, his body shook and almost lost his balance.
"This man is crazy and doesn't care about anything!"
Then there are the two decisive balls:
1 and a half points left, 2 points behind the heat. Jimmy made a straight arc-top three-pointer.
Why didn't Holladay prioritize his three-pointers? Because Jimmy had previously shot 1 of 7 from three-pointers, because Jimmy had already scored 46 points on breakaway + free throws. Because Jimmy's three-point percentage over the past four seasons is 24%, 25%, 23% and 35% this season (36 goals in 64 games).
- but just in. It doesn't make sense.
- "This man is crazy and doesn't care about anything!" ”
In the next round, Jimmy advances with the ball and Holladay chases after him; The Bucks prioritized retiring to the basket: "Prevent him from breaking through!" ”
Jimmy made a sharp stop and stepped on the three-point line to step back and hit the 51st point. The heat leads by 3 points.
Then came the last-minute free throws — Lowry contributed another key steal.
In the 1992 Finals, the Blazers felt Jordan's breakthrough threat was stronger than his shots, and as a result, Jordan shrugged his shoulders with his famous six-point shot in his first half.
Jimmy burst through the game today, and the last three-pointer was a 22-foot jump shot to seal the win.
——If he and Jordan are really father and son, what a perfect story!
So that's it:
He is suspected to have an injury to his left ankle. Facing the league's No. 1 defensive Bucks, the league's top leader Holladay, and the league's top defensive combination Giannis + Lopez Twin Towers.
The eighth heat in the East leads the first Bucks in the East 3-1.
Six minutes into the first quarter, Jimmy Butler scored 20 points to stop the team from collapsing.
Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Jimmy Butler scored 19 points to turn the tide around.
56 points.
In the tenth season of "Friends", Chandler has a quote about his wonderful wife Monica: she was born a mother, but she had one child less.
Similar logic, Jimmy Butler, the tough-guy performances of the past years – 2020 with heat into the Finals, 47 points against the Celtics Game 6 in 2022, and 56 points today – I would say this:
Jimmy Butler is a natural fighter and champion – just yet to win a championship.
The same applies to Reggie Miller.
At last......
When was the last time Miami fans saw 56 points in the playoffs?
Having seen so many coincidences above, you probably already guessed ...
On April 29, 1992, the Bulls vs Miami, Jordan scored 56 points on 18-of-30 shooting, 18-of-16 free throws.
Jimmy scored 56 points today on 19-of-28 shooting, 15-of-15 free throws.
So Jimmy Butler is Jordan's son, right?