The Miami Heat have needed Jordan-like performances from Jimmy Butler in these NBA Finals. He has definitely delivered.
Although we don’t agree with the premise of the piece, it was titled Buying or Selling Lakers’ Biggest Problems vs. Miami Heat in NBA Finals. Here is the excerpt that caught our eye.
"It isn’t an overstatement to say Butler is having one of the greatest series performances in league history. And he’s doing it in a way that defies one major convention of modern basketball. Butler has attempted just 11 threes in this series. In his 40-point masterpiece in Game 3, he was 0-of-0 from deep. His shot chart for the Finals looks an awful lot like something out of the ’80s or ’90s. Butler is 17-of-28 in the restricted area, 11-of-20 from the mid-range and 6-of-10 on fadeaway twos. Squint real hard and it almost looks like the second coming of MJ out there against LeBron and the Lakers. And no matter who they throw at him, Butler won’t get rattled. He’s attacking size (they’ve had 6’10” Anthony Davis as his primary defender for long stretches) and shooting over guards and wings. And as has been the case all season with Miami, when a decent look isn’t available, Butler is a master at drawing shooting fouls or finding the open man. Simply put, the Lakers can’t stop Butler. Unfortunately for the Heat, that might not be enough."
While we won’t ignore the last sentence, we won’t dwell on it either. As the classic Spoism goes, “we have enough”.
On the other stuff though and dare I say, Bleacher Report might have gotten this one right. If you look really close and close your eyes, he is and has been MJ-esque in these Finals.