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 team’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.
“Man, honestly, I’m not ready to talk about basketball yet,” he said. “I’m still in my feelings, so I don’t really get into it. I can’t. You’re opening up a door of emotions. I just want to talk about coffee and ice cream, my brother.”
Butler’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 Butler’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 Miami’s chances of advancing to the NBA Finals next season.