Getty Jimmy Butler, left, and Goran Dragic of the Miami Heat.
For the Heat, the Christmas Day win against the Pelicans was a tale of two halves—in the first, with Jimmy Butler fighting through an ankle injury, the team dominated, leading by as many as 23 points. Without Butler in the second half, the Pels staged a comeback but could not ultimately catch the Heat.
Still, point guard Goran Dragic, for one, did not seem too concerned about Butler’s injury. Butler had four points, six rebounds and five assists in just 16 minutes played. He first suffered the injury in the Opening Night loss to Orlando.
After the game, Dragic tweeted a video, at Butler, of he and Butler joking on the bench early in the second quarter.
“Stop talking to me G you are too tired right now, I don’t understand what are you saying,” Dragic wrote.
Dragic, for his part, was outstanding off the bench, logging 18 points with nine assists and four steals on the afternoon.
Goran Dragic, Jimmy Butler Form Strong Bond With Heat
The bond between Dragic (who is from Slovenia) and Butler was almost immediate for the Heat and strengthened over the length of last season. Within three months of coming together in Miami, the two connected over their mutual love of soccer and a post-game beer.
In Dragic’s tweet, “Brate,” refers to the Slovenian slang word that translates to, “Bro,” his nickname for Butler.
Back in September, after Miami’s Game 2 win over the Bucks in the conference semifinals, Butler posted a photo of he and Dragic, hands locked, on Instagram, with the caption, “Dobra igra brate,” which means, “Good game, bro.”
Throughout last season, the two sang each other’s praises.
“I think I’m half Slovenian,” Butler said of Dragic, according to the Sun-Sentinel, in August. “That’s just my guy. He’s just a great human being. He does whatever it takes to win, whether it’s coming off the bench, when he knows that he’s a starter and he knows that he’s an All-Star, or starting like he’s doing right now. He’s just so smart and he’ll do anything, absolutely anything for anybody.”
This summer, Dragic was a free agent and said, jokingly, that one reason he wanted to come back to Miami was to remain on Butler’s good side.
“I didn’t want him chasing my ass,” said Dragic, who wound up re-signing on a two-year deal worth $37 million.
More Goran Dragic to AP: Jimmy Butler called him last week and (half-seriously, we think) suggested physical violence could be coming his way if he didn’t return to Miami. “Jimmy’s a tough guy. … I didn’t want him chasing my ass,” Dragic said.
Jimmy Butler’s Ankle Still a Question Mark
As for Butler’s ankle, he was questionable entering the Heat’s game on Friday after injuring the ankle against Orlando. He decided to give it a go but he was clearly struggling against New Orleans and did not come out of the locker room after halftime.
Butler had 19 points and seven assists against the Magic, but was asked after that game what the Magic did to limit him. “They stepped on my ankle,” he said.
Jimmy Butler asked about things Orlando did, “They stepped on my ankle.”
Makes sure to note that isn’t an excuse
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said that Butler and the staff decided together to have him sit out for the second half against the Pelicans.
“It was a group decision,” Spoelstra told reporters, according to the Miami Herald. “He sprained it in the Orlando game and even in the second half, he wasn’t moving the way he typically wants to and it just stiffened up. We really felt that the smartest decision right now is not to force it.”
The Heat are off until they face the Bucks on Tuesday.
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