And Spoelstra gives some latitude, even if inside it can infuriate him, because he knows Butler is the driving force behind Miami's pursuit of a championship. But I don't get them all the time, and then you see him give a look over there."īutler does it because he trusts his instincts and because he knows he has developed a line of credit with Spoelstra, even if it sometimes dips into the red. "Luckily, I was 2-for-2 on those particular shoot-the-gap passing lanes. "I tell you right now, Spo doesn't like me, he doesn't like whenever I do it," Butler said of the gambles. But Butler didn't, picking off Jayson Tatum passes and making a 3-pointer and a dunk, the most powerful of his 17 points in the quarter. If he missed them, it might have led to easy baskets for the Celtics and a turn in momentum. The game was in its fragile moments, the Heat were on a run to take the lead and Butler made two gambles to try for steals. So on Tuesday night in the third quarter, after the Heat had fallen down by as many as 13 points in the first half, Butler wasn't afraid to test his coach again. It's a little tougher at times for the Heat, an organization that thrives on holding players to high standards and not being afraid to attack problems, but it's true just the same. It's the NBA way - always has been, and always will be. What he brings, especially in a playoff setting, buys him more leeway. Two days later, after Spoelstra missed a game because of an unrelated personal matter, he returned, reset and ready.īutler was relieved, so was the rest of the team, and everyone started over, because at the end of the day and the end of the season, Butler is worth it. "Spo was exasperated," one team source said.Įven Butler, who sometimes seems to actually enjoy creating conflict on his team, wondered whether this was a breaking point, sources said. It wasn't just that moment with Butler verbally shoving back at his coach it was a long buildup. 1 seed in the East and are three wins from reaching the NBA Finals.īut even some of Spoelstra's closest friends had never seen him like that, not just the emotional outburst in the huddle but the dark brooding he did for the rest of that quarter, almost stopping coaching as he managed the fury.įor Butler, three seasons' worth of give-and-take with Spoelstra finally led to finding the line. Of course, now that moment can be spun as galvanizing. In the 48 hours after the outburst, as the meetings between Butler and team management took place, it wasn't clear how the crossroads moment would play out. And he can be driven to incredible feats by his thirst to win. With his training and, yes, with the way he needles teammates and coaches. Spoelstra has long known Butler is intense. And he was able to produce and put us in a position to feel comfortable to be able to win this game."īut back in March when Butler had pushed Spoelstra to the brink, in the midst of a sideline outburst during a game against the Golden State Warriors, he barked at Butler, "I always knew you were crazy!" as the argument spilled onto the court. "This level is high level, this competition, and he senses it, and he knows it. "If you're driven by competition, and the stakes get raised, you're going to raise your level of play," Spoelstra said after Butler assembled a brilliant 41-point, nine-rebound, five-assist, four-steal, three-block masterpiece. The Miami Heat coach was his usual controlled self after guiding his team to a 118-107 victory over the Boston Celtics, fueled by Butler's greatness, to take a 1-0 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference finals. That isn't exactly how Erik Spoelstra termed Butler's game on Tuesday night, of course. NBA playoffs 2022: For better or worse, Jimmy Butler is the Miami Heat's driving force You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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