Miami Heat alpha Jimmy Butler recently downplayed his feud with Indiana Pacers forward T.J. Warren.
However, one scout who knows the All-Star believes that Butler will make the matchup personal with Warren in the Heat’s first-round battle with the Pacers.
“But the other scout said: ‘Knowing Jimmy the way I do, even if Spo [Erik Spoelstra] wants Jimmy to match up with Oladipo, Jimmy is going to tell whoever is guarding Warren to switch so he can guard Warren. Jimmy is going to make it personal,'” Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald wrote.
There’s no secret Butler and Warren have history.
The feud between both players started during a matchup in early January. Butler and Warren got into an ugly altercation which led to Warren getting ejected.
Since then, Warren has turned into one of the league’s burgeoning superstars. The forward put up a scorching 31.0 points per game during the seeding games in the NBA bubble in Orlando, Fla.
As a result of his breakout production, he was selected onto the NBA’s All-Bubble First Team.
The Heat proved to be the best at slowing Warren down in the bubble. He put up just 12 points and five boards in the Heat’s 114-92 destruction of the Pacers on Aug. 10.
Butler, 30, appears to want to keep limiting the Pacers veteran. Butler is averaging 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game this season.
Warren’s status for Game 1 of the first-round series is up in the air due to an injury.
