Getty Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat defends Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
The Miami Heat are just one win away from upsetting the No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. With Miami landing in the Play-In Tournament this season, it wasn’t always guaranteed that they’d be matching up with the Bucks in Round 1.
In fact, it seemed very likely that the Heat would get a rematch with the Boston Celtics, who beat them in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games last season. Much to the chagrin of Celtics fans, Miami wasn’t able to get past the Atlanta Hawks in the 7 vs. 8 game, meaning that the Hawks, not the Heat, would play Boston to kick off the playoffs.
Now, with the Heat on the cusp of eliminating the league-best Bucks, Boston’s fans are feeling “lucky” that they were able to avoid Miami and the scorching-hot Jimmy Butler.
Fans flocked to upvote a post by Reddit user “chinesefox97” in the Celtics subreddit about avoiding the Heat.
“Can we all just agree we were lucky to avoid Jimbo [Butler] and the Heat?” the post read. “Jimmy is willing his team to beat that overrated Bucks team. Man that is one dangerous first round match up.”
User “TH3_ZucC” replied and shouted out Butler, claiming that they enjoy watching him torch teams who aren’t the Celtics.
“Man I love watching Jimmy Butler as long as he’s not doing it against us. He’s so f— good.”
Another reply from “chivestheconquerer” read, “I was getting clowned for being afraid of Jimmy and the Heat. They told me they were trash this year, history doesn’t matter, etc. I’m sorry but Jimmy Butler is a baaaad man.”
Jimmy Butler Breaks Heat Record in Game 4 Win Over Bucks
The inspiration for the Reddit post was, of course, Butler’s monster 56-point game to down the Bucks.
The performance was not only Butler’s career-high, but also Miami’s playoff record for points in a single game. The record was previously held by LeBron James, who scored 49 points back in 2014 against the Brooklyn Nets.
In this series Butler has averaged 36.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game, while shooting 62.8% from the field and 52.9% from beyond the arc. He’s been on another level, which is common for him this time of year.
Jimmy Butler Discusses ‘Playoff Jimmy’ After Heat Beat Bucks
The way that the 33-year-old constantly finds another gear in the postseason has led fans to nickname him “Playoff Jimmy.”
Butler was asked about the nickname following his record-setting outburst in Game 4.
He smirked and gave a simple response.
“It’s not a thing. It’s not,” he said via Bally Sports Sun. “I just be hoopin’.”
“[Playoff Jimmy] is not a thing. It’s not. I just be hoopin’.” 😏
Jimmy Butler speaks after a 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙮 performance with 56 points in the Heat’s Game 4 victory
Butler later conceded and admitted he does have some extra love for the competitiveness of the playoffs.
“I love the competitive aspect of [the playoffs]. I think this is where the best players show up and show out. I’m not saying I’m one of those best players. I just want to be looked at as such,” Butler said. “I want to do everything for my team to win, along with everybody else on this roster. I think [Pat Riley] and [Erik Spoelstra] wanted me here for a reason. I feel like this is part of that reason.”