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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