Jimmy Butler is still emotional after ECF loss: ā€˜Iā€™m not ready to talk about basketball yetā€™

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Though the Golden State Warriors have officially been crowned the 2022 NBA champions, Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler is still not yet ready to discuss his teamā€™s defeat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Heat battled with the Boston Celtics in a highly competitive seven-game series, but they could not get a win in the final game.

In a recent interview with Front Office Sports, Butler admitted that he is not yet ready to talk about basketball again.

ā€œMan, honestly, Iā€™m not ready to talk about basketball yet,ā€ he said. ā€œIā€™m still in my feelings, so I donā€™t really get into it. I canā€™t. Youā€™re opening up a door of emotions. I just want to talk about coffee and ice cream, my brother.ā€

Butlerā€™s response is understandable and fair. Often, NBA players like to enjoy the first portion of the offseason by relaxing and letting their bodies heal after a long and grueling NBA season. Part of that rest surely includes taking a break from thinking about basketball and the previous season.

That is surely hard for a player as competitive and passionate as Butler. In the series against the Celtics, Butler made sure to leave it all on the floor. In the seven-game series, he averaged 25.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He was a dominant force and was a major reason why the Heat managed to stretch the series to seven games.

Despite Butlerā€™s heroics, the Heat could not get it done in the series. Now, Butler and the rest of the Heat roster will surely look to spend a large portion of the summer improving as individual players and as a unit in order to better Miamiā€™s chances of advancing to the NBA Finals next season.

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Jonathan is a freelance writer, filmmaker, and passionate fan of the NBA. In the past Jonathan has covered politics, entertainment, travel, and more. He is a proud contributor of Heat Nation.