The Miami Heat finally know who they’ll face in the Eastern Conference Finals. With the Boston Celtics demolishing the Milwaukee Bucks in a Game 7 clash on Sunday, the Miami Heat are set to duel with one of the most historic franchises in NBA history in an NBA Bubble Eastern Conference Finals rematch.
Here’s the thing though, that shouldn’t matter to the Miami Heat. For all of their historic accolades, the Miami Heat are, not only, one of the youngest and most successful NBA franchises in the league, but they have achieved greater heights than the Celtics over the last 20 years or so.
Enough about the history though, this thing is all about right now! While there will be many determining factors that go into this series, there is one, in particular, that should stand out among all others.
With this being the notion heading into most professional basketball games, it comes down to the players on the floor. As opposed to other sports, like baseball and football that have more to do with the coaching or managing, basketball is the game most impacted by the best players on the court.
Miami Heat Playoffs: Can Jimmy Butler Be Best Player On Floor For 4 Wins?
That brings you to an interesting question. Who will have the better players on the floor in this series between Boston and the Miami Heat?
Deeper than that, who will have the absolute best player on the floor? Finally and most specific, to this notion, can Jimmy Butler, the Miami Heat’s best player, be the best player on the floor for four Miami Heat wins?
The answer has to be—a resounding yes.
To be clear, it would only be between Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler.
There are several ways to attack this, but the two that will be used here today are the most effective at getting an explanation across for these purposes. The easiest is by looking at the top players in these playoffs.
To be frank, the only other guy that could, flat-out, be looked at as playing better than Jimmy Butler got sent home by Tatum’s Celtics on Sunday, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Miami Heat Playoffs: Can Jimmy Butler Outduel Jayson Tatum For The Honor?
While guys like Tatum, Luka Doncic (touché to his massive showing in their Game 7 slaughtering of the Suns), and a few others might have cases, no one has been as consistently explosive or effective on both sides as Jimmy Butler.
Well, again, other than Antetokounmpo. That means that no one still in the NBA playoffs has played better than Jimmy Butler has this postseason.
The second best way to attack it in an easily digestible manner is this. It hints at something that played as a separating factor in the playoffs’ best performer, the two-way ability.
Jayson Tatum is the better offensive talent between he and Jimmy, while he has developed into a better defender, in general, across his career. However, this season is the first where he’s been a true night in and night out two-way threat.
You have to be fair. While Jimmy has shown capable, specifically and especially across these playoffs, to be able to match what Tatum can do offensively, can Tatum match the way that Jimmy Butler can wreck a game on the defensive side?
Though it may be a good question to actually research, the safe science would probably lean “no”.
Again, though there are a few different ways to attack the question, these two lead you to believe that if he continues to do what he has done thus far up until this point this postseason—Jimmy Butler can certainly be the best player on the court for four Miami Heat wins.