Miami Heat: Jimmy Butler Has Been A Top 2 Player In 2022 NBA Playoffs
The first thing you look at is the numbers.
When it comes to scoring in the NBA Playoffs, Jimmy ranks number four at 28.3 points per game across nine games so far. That puts him behind the Greek Freak, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic.
You immediately cancel out Jokic, as he isn’t in the playoffs anymore after being eliminated in five games. To be fair, after Jimmy, you have Ja Morant, Brandon Ingram, Jayson Tatum, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and then Donovan Mitchell.
You also would take all of the rest of the first-round elimination guys out like BI, KD, and Donovan Mitchell. Though the others left are still below Jimmy in scoring, you then go to the other stuff.
Jimmy also ranks top 15 in rebounds and while Ja Morant ranks 13th, the next guy left from the trio that remained but also fell right behind him in scoring comes all the way down at 45 in rebounding, Jayson Tatum.
Even if you look at assists, Jimmy is a top-20 performer.
While the raw numbers are one thing, telling you that Jimmy is more productively well-rounded than almost anybody else in the playoffs, it also speaks to the consistency of it all. Jimmy has put up huge numbers and/or made all of the biggest plays for his team on any given night so far throughout their run.
Some guys may have gone bigger scoring-wise and though Jimmy hasn’t been a slouch there, scoring 45 in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Hawks and scoring 33 or more points in almost half of their games, few have been as consistently top-end type productive as Jimmy Butler.
The fact that he’s scored that many in nearly half of his playoff games played this year screams exactly that fact! But wait—there’s more.