With his 30 points and 10 rebounds, Bam Adebayo would also have made a fine MVP. Jimmy Butler scored much less than his teammate, but he made an impression with his decisive defense on Devin Booker in the final moments, to validate the Heat’s victory over the Suns.
After yet another missed circle from Cameron Payne, then an offensive rebound from Deandre Ayton, the back of the Suns still had about ten seconds before the buzzer to put his team back in front.
He started on his right hand, stopped at the right corner of the racket and rose to shoot. Jimmy Butler too, to counter him. A severe tarp but Devin Booker was able to recover the leather and sent an impossible shot backwards from behind the arc, with a hand from Jimmy Butler still facing him.
Victory for the Heat with a Jimmy Butler gone to give a frank hug to his coach, Erik Spoelstra. ” We have so many guys who can score but I love the fact that we won this game on defense », love the winger. Before developing: You can win any way you can, but it’s nice to know that we really, really, really won because we started getting the rebounds and blocking some shots. »
“I am lucky not to have made a mistake”
His counter, the only one of his evening? A simple ” fact of game. I am lucky not to have made a mistake. (booker) had taken in some tricky shots before, but I knew I had to get my hands on one of his shots. He adds that the Heat knew the Suns guard was going to ” having the ball, because he takes and goes hard shots, he’s one of those guys in the league. As long as we contest his shot without making a mistake, we do with the result. »
His coach is not surprised by the attitude and gesture of his leader: ” Faced with the biggest challenges in this league, he comes into action. »
Author of 16 points (5/12 on shots), 13 rebounds and 7 assists, Jimmy Butler was present in all areas. However, he underlines the offensive aggressiveness of Bam Adebayo which contributed to the Heat’s comeback. When the pivot plays like this, “ we are really hard to beat but the most important thing is that he is our defensive anchor “.
” These two guys are really the centerpieces of our team. We are inspired by their warrior spirit. They’re so tough, they’re the epitome of players who make an impact on both sides of the pitch », Finishes Erik Spoelstra.
| Jimmy Butler | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2011-12 | CHI | 42 | 9 | 40.5 | 18.2 | 76.8 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.6 |
| 2012-13 | CHI | 82 | 26 | 46.7 | 38.1 | 80.3 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 8.6 |
| 2013-14 | CHI | 67 | 39 | 39.7 | 28.3 | 76.9 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 13.1 |
| 2014-15 | CHI | 65 | 39 | 46.2 | 37.8 | 83.4 | 1.8 | 4.1 | 5.8 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 20.0 |
| 2015-16 | CHI | 67 | 37 | 45.5 | 31.1 | 83.2 | 1.2 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 20.9 |
| 2016-17 | CHI | 76 | 37 | 45.5 | 36.7 | 86.5 | 1.7 | 4.5 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 23.9 |
| 2017-18 | MIN | 59 | 37 | 47.4 | 35.0 | 85.4 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 22.2 |
| 2018-19 * | All Teams | 65 | 34 | 46.2 | 34.7 | 85.5 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 18.7 |
| 2018-19 * | PHL | 55 | 33 | 46.1 | 33.8 | 86.8 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 18.2 |
| 2018-19 * | MIN | 10 | 36 | 47.1 | 37.8 | 78.7 | 1.6 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 21.3 |
| 2019-20 | MIA | 58 | 34 | 45.5 | 24.4 | 83.4 | 1.8 | 4.8 | 6.7 | 6.0 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 20.0 |
| 2020-21 | MIA | 52 | 34 | 49.7 | 24.5 | 86.3 | 1.8 | 5.1 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 21.5 |
| 2021-22 | MIA | 57 | 34 | 48.0 | 23.3 | 87.0 | 1.8 | 4.1 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 21.4 |
| 2022-23 | MIA | 11 | 36 | 48.7 | 37.0 | 89.0 | 2.0 | 4.6 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 22.1 |
| Total | 701 | 33 | 46.1 | 32.2 | 84.2 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 17.8 | |
