Report: Some within NBA don’t consider Jimmy Butler capable of leading team to title as No. 1 option

peter2dewey@yahoo.com'
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The Miami Heat are in the NBA Finals in the first season of the Jimmy Butler era.

Miami trails the Los Angeles Lakers 1-2 in the best-of-seven series, and Butler has done just about everything in his power to keep the Heat in it.

Miami’s star recorded a 40-point triple-double in Game 3 to help lead the Heat to a 115-104 win.

However, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, there are people around the NBA that believe that Butler can’t win a title as the best player on the team.

“The Butler-Paul George debate has raged awhile,” Lowe wrote. “Both have ranked somewhere between the league’s eighth- and 12th-best players the past few seasons. I have (barely) leaned George in the past, though both are amazing.

“The reasoning, which you hear within the league: Neither is winning a ring as the No. 1 option, and George, because of his shooting, is the perfect No. 2.”

Despite this notion, Butler has guided Miami to the NBA Finals and knocked off both the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and star-studded Boston Celtics to get there.

Now, he is trying to help Miami take down LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the NBA Finals.

Butler has proven this season that he can lead a team to the Finals and is just three wins away from proving all the doubters wrong regarding his ability to win a ring as the lead man.

The Heat and Lakers will square off in Game 4 tonight from the Orlando, Fla. bubble.

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Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.