The Miami Heat did their job on the road to start their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Knicks. They stole home court instantly, winning Game 1 at Madison Square Garden. Without Jimmy Butler in the lineup for Game 2, the Heat did lose, but they got back to their winning ways in Game 3 of the NBA playoff series.
That has put Miami in a great position to advance as 73 percent of the teams who win Game 3 in a series tied 1-1 move on. While the team did find some success without Butler in the lineup, the Heat looked like a totally different team with him out there.
“You can’t put an analytic to it, just the overall confidence level your team has that you can always get the ball to him and know we’ll get something efficient and coherent,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Butler was excellent once again, scoring 28 points with four rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 36 minutes of action. Because of a scheduling quirk, Game 3 was the first time Butler was on the court in nearly a week as his injury in Game 1 occurred on Sunday afternoon.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat & New York Knicks Updates
Given the ankle injury he is playing through and the lengthy amount of time off, there was some rust to knock off. Butler commented on that rust, saying it impacted his efficiency on offense as he did shoot 9-of-21.
“It feels good,” Butler said. “I was definitely out of rhythm though, I’m not going to lie to you. I shot a lot of shots [like] aargh. I missed a lot of shots.”
As Spoelstra noted, the impact that Butler has on the team goes beyond statistics and numbers. With him on the court, his teammates’ confidence rises and it becomes a lot easier for them to produce with Butler garnering so much attention from the opponent.
Veteran Kevin Love likened the impact Butler has to someone else he spent time playing alongside; LeBron James. “It reminds me of another player that I played with for several years, so it’s an amazing thing to watch,” Love said, comparing Butler’s impact to James. “He leads us, he sets the tone for us every single night.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat & New York Knicks Updates
That is some high praise for Love to hand out as James is considered one of the best to ever do it. With his performance thus far this postseason, Butler is looking to cement his status among the Heat greats as well.
Even the opposition heaped some praise on Butler. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, who has coached Butler with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, spoke highly of him as well. “Yeah. Great player; gonna make plays,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You gotta make him work for it.”
This series has turned into a war of attrition, which has led to Butler adjusting his style of play a little bit. The ankle injury certainly plays a part in that conserving of energy as well, as Butler twisted his ankle a little bit again in Game 3.
“I feel all right. A lot of recovery and making sure that I can move went into it for sure,” Butler said. “That’s for everybody that thinks I’m not athletic. I just choose not to dunk … because it takes too much energy. But I shall get back to my two-handed flushes.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat & New York Knicks Updates
Heading into Game 4, the Heat have a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead. That would put them in the driver’s seat and in an excellent position to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. But, you know that the Knicks aren’t going to roll over as this series is far from over if they can even things up at two wins apiece heading back home to MSG for Game 5.
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