Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is having a stellar run so far in the 2023 NBA playoffs. The six-time All-Star is first in clutch points, first in steals and first in iso points, according to StatMuse.
Butler is averaging 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.1 steals in the 2023 postseason while shooting 48.3% from the field, 35.6% from beyond the arc and 80.6% from the free-throw line. The Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoffs to advance to the NBA Finals.
“I would like to say that I’m never rattled,” Butler said during the Heat’s NBA Finals media day. “I’m very calm. I’m very consistent in everything that I do, whether it’s before the game, after the game, during the game, and I think when my guys look at me like that, they follow suit in every single way. I love that about them because they’re never shook. No matter what. We could be down, people can think that we’re out, and all of a sudden we’re right back in this thing and it’s because we do the same thing every day. We love being around each other.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat & Denver Nuggets Updates
“We want to see each other succeed. We really do enjoy when each other play well, and we’re going to continue to do that, never going to get rattled, and we’re going to see where we end up.”
The Heat are facing Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals. Butler believes Miami has to guard Jokic with all five guys who are on the floor to stop the two-time MVP.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat & Denver Nuggets Updates
“Guarding him as a team with all five guys,” Butler said. “He does everything so well, and we’re going to have to be in the gaps, we’re going to have to gang rebound. We can’t have defensive lapses. We’re just going to have to get after it. I think at the end of the day, he’s a major key, as DJ Khaled would say, and we’re going to have to lock in.”
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