The Miami Heat are supposed to be a defensive powerhouse and Jimmy’s expected to be a savant.
The Miami Heat are built on hard work and defense. They want to outwork you, while grinding you down with continuous execution in hopes that eventually, you submit to their will.
They’ll run you around the world on offense, just to find a quality shot, while they’ll pester you like no other on the other side of the ball for 24 seconds when they are at their best. While Bam Adebayo has a huge part in that, Jimmy Butler is also one of the main reasons, right now, that it all works the way that it does.
History
That’s just it though! You expect that from Jimmy Butler.
Jimmy has been nothing but a worker for his entire career in the NBA. Since entering the league, Jimmy has routinely taken on the toughest defensive assignments there were and succeeded!
That’s hurting him now though. Because you expect Jimmy Butler to do exactly what he has always done throughout the history of his career and time in the league, some fail to realize when they are still witnessing greatness.
Look back to the Miami Heat’s road trip over the past week or so. Yes, they weren’t successful, in that they dropped three of those four games.
The thing you can take away from those games though, for these purposes, is that Jimmy Butler guarded everyone on that road trip. He guarded Chris Paul a little, he guarded Devin Booker, he guarded the perimeter guys for the Nuggets, he guarded Nikola Jokic, he guarded KAT in the Minnesota game, and that’s because he guards everybody!
However, that will go uncelebrated because that’s the expectation. While it isn’t fair, those are the breaks.
Jimmy Butler might still be able to creep a little higher on the ladder for the Defensive Player Of The Year award, but he likely won’t win it. These are the obstacles that’ll keep him from doing so.