The Miami Heat are the Eastern Conference leaders, a top-four team in the league based on the records, and one of only four teams in the league that ranks in the top 10 on both sides of the ball. They are in a pretty good spot leaving the All-Star break, right where they want to be.
However, that’s a notion or a term that is the focus of this particular chat. After a brutal stretch of games to conclude the first section of the season, this week-longish break (save for the lackadaisical proceedings of an All-Star Weekend of events) is supposed to be just that—a break.
It’s a period when many take time to refresh and recharge. Some even use it to catch up with old friends—or teams, in the case of Patrick Beverly of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
#ClipperNation look who came out to show support, @patbev21! pic.twitter.com/XfcFf0POWx
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) February 18, 2022
However, there are those guys that are just built differently. A lot of guys are that way, to be honest, and especially if they have been so fortunate enough to make it to the highest level in their chosen professional sport, the NBA in this case.
However, there are still those special ones, even among them. Jimmy Butler certainly qualifies.
The Miami Heat have a few more days off before they get back to the mission at hand. For their best player though, there are absolutely no days off.
Just a day removed from his first real day off, somewhat participating in All-Star Weekend, Jimmy Butler is back at it. Captured from his Instagram account on Tuesday, Butler was in the gym working on his weaknesses as he gets prepared to ramp things back up for the second part of the year.
Jimmy Butler still GRINDING during the all-star break 😤 @JimmyButler pic.twitter.com/ykGEpCLus7
— Overtime (@overtime) February 22, 2022
Yes, he’s a pro. Yes, he’s not supposed to just stop playing.
Yes, he gets paid a lot of money and therefore, should continue to work on the thing that helped him amass that fortune, however, there are a ton of guys that don’t. Even if they did, you know things are just different with, for, and in the mind of Jimmy Butler.
For as much as he’s been criticized for his intensity, the on-court fake toughness, the early morning workouts, his lack of outside shooting prowess, and every other fake argument that people have used to cover up the fact that they are just upset that he isn’t a part of their favorite little basketball team—you know that this is who he is every single day.
You respect it. You love it if you are a Miami Heat fan.
The beautiful thing about it all though is this. Jimmy Butler could care less about any of it—the praise or the criticism.
He’s going to just continue to do him and that, inevitably, means a ton of hard work. This is vacation, the Jimmy Butler way, and the only way he probably knows how to do it.