Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. NBA Playoff Basketball is going on!
Jimmy Butler goes for a playoff career-high 40 points to upend the Bucks.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Kim Klement/USA Today.)
I’ve made it clear that I underestimated the impact of Jimmy Butler and his marriage to the Miami Heat. But every team he’s been at, the team has somewhat flourished.
He became the #1 star in Chicago. They did miss the playoffs in 2016 but he helped keep them afloat with 42 wins. They would come back into the postseason the next year before it became too much for the Bulls to deal with him.
In 2017-18, he was with Minnesota. The fiery Butler helped the young core to 47 wins and the Wolves made the postseason for the first time since 2004. But Butler also butted heads with the Wolves and he was dealt to the Sixers halfway through last season. Butler clearly became the closer for the Sixers during that season. In fact, he was the one that tied the game against Toronto in Game 7 before Kawhi Leonard made his iconic shot.
Once again, though, the Sixers didn’t want to deal with Butler’s fiery attitude so they dealt him to Miami. It’s clear that the Sixers missed him while the Heat reaped the benefits of having a player like Butler. Now Butler gets to be himself as Miami is well-known for that Heat Culture and their need for high-disciplined players. Butler fit in that mold.
Butler also becomes the closer Miami needs. And boy, did he close down the Bucks on Monday. Jimmy took over the fourth quarter, making shot after shot to keep the Bucks at bay. He would end up with 40 points, which is a career-high. It’s no wonder some people actually picked the Heat to win this series; Jimmy Butler can have such an impact on both ends. Butler is tabbed as a Top 20 player in the game and while he’s not fancy and flashy, he just gets the job done with all his dirty work.
And we keep forgetting that he was chosen LAST in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft. That is not too shabby at all.
Bullet Passes
And the series is tied between the Rockets and the Thunder. Chris Paul made the go-ahead free throws and scored 15 of 28 points in the fourth quarter. In the meantime, Russell Westbrook looked out of sorts (I’m probably being nice) in the closing minutes of the game. Chris Webber wondered aloud why James Harden didn’t have the ball there.
So Brandon Ingram won Most Improved Player. Here’s the voting breakdown:
Full ballot breakdown of the Most Improved Player voting won by New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram … pic.twitter.com/fpZHjNU7hr
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 31, 2020
I chose Bam Adebayo all season. Yeah, you can argue that he got more playing time from the previous season but others would also argue that Ingram got his numbers up while having the same amount of minutes. But I also watched the Lakers and Ingram was having a fantastic run after the all-star break when he averaged 27.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Ah, well. I’m not one of the voters.
Although Luka Doncic had a point: the award probably should’ve went to Devonte’ Graham.
Tuesday‘s Game 7 is going to be awesome. One more potential duel between Donovan Mitchell (38.7 PPG in the series) and Jamal Murray (34.0 PPG in the series). Probably going to be as exciting (if not, more) as Brandy and Monica on Verzuz on Monday!
(VIDEO CREDIT: Brandy’s YouTube Channel.)
NBA Playoff Scoreboard
Game 1: #1 MIL 104 vs #5 MIA 115 (MIA leads series, 1-0)
Game 6: #4 HOU 100 vs #5 OKC 104 (Series is tied, 3-3)
Watch This Play
The Bucks did lose but look at this defensive play by Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Get that outta here. pic.twitter.com/1PmdOkpgH2
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) August 31, 2020
We’re losing so many people. R.I.P. Lute Olson, Chadwick Boseman, Cliff Robinson, and John Thompson. Please take care, y’all.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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