Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been labeled as stubborn, demeaning and abrasive at many points throughout his career.
These may seem like negative attributes on the surface, but in Miami, and most of Butler’s other stops, this has translated to toughness on the court. That toughness has been woven seamlessly with the Heat’s mantra of “culture” and has resulted in the team ending up with the No. 1 seed in the East and onto the second round of the playoffs with a gentleman’s sweep over the Atlanta Hawks.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, who shares a lot of those same “tough” qualities, recently made a stark comparison between his role on the Warriors with Butler’s on the Heat.
“Miami, they are built around Jimmy Butler’s toughness,” Green said. “…Jimmy Butler’s the leader of that team. … They feed off that toughness, very similar to how we’re built. My toughness, and that’s my role on this team, and so I do see some similarities there with that.”
Green has oft been labeled as the heart and soul of the Warriors as he is easily the team’s best defender and one who isn’t afraid to do the dirty work while players such as Stephen Curry get most of the offensive shine.
The difference, however, is that Butler is the Heat’s best scorer, defender and leader all in one package, while the Warriors’ best scorer is Curry.
Butler is having a phenomenal 2022 playoffs so far as he is averaging 30.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and a league-high 2.8 steals per game. He did miss the Heat’s Game 5 closeout victory over the Atlanta Hawks with inflammation in his knee. But with extended time off, look for him to be ready for Round 2 against either the Philadelphia 76ers or Toronto Raptors.
