Butler was again a willing passer, but this time his teammates made shots as the Heat converted on nearly 44% of their 3s. Then in the East finals, the Celtics showed Butler bodies and crowded the paint to take away his drives. His scoring averages slipped and the Heat shot a playoff-low 30% from 3-point range in the series, but still managed to dispatch the Knicks in six gritty games. A sprained right ankle sustained in the first game sidelined him in Game 2 and sapped him of some of the explosiveness he had in the opening round.

Butler scored 35, 25, 30, 56 and 42 points as the Heat upset the top-seeded Bucks in five games.Īgainst the Knicks, Butler saw more traps and double-teams designed to get the ball out of his hands. The Bucks defended Butler one-on-one, relying on Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo at various points to handle the assignment. As long as we win, everybody is playing great.”Īs the Heat have advanced in the postseason, the way defenses approach Butler has changed. “I’ve done what I’ve needed to do to get us to 1-1,” Butler said. Against the Nuggets, Butler has 16 assists through two Finals games. Meanwhile, his assist numbers have gone up every series. Since averaging 37.6 points per game in the first round, Butler’s scoring average dropped to 24.7 points across the next two rounds.

It’s led many to wonder if Butler’s best scoring games are behind him and, more crucially, if the Heat can win the championship without some classic Butler bangers. I only press to win.”īutler is averaging 17 points on 39.4% shooting through the first two games of the Miami Heat’s Finals matchup against the Denver Nuggets and hasn’t scored 30 points since Game 1 of the East finals. “This Playoff Jimmy narrative is not a thing,” Butler said. Jimmy Butler has long pushed back on the notion of “Playoff Jimmy,” and he reemphasized that on Tuesday when asked about his modest scoring output during these NBA Finals.

Jrue holiday stats per game