The Miami Heat are poised to embark on another promising postseason run, similar to last season’s trip to the NBA Finals, but they must first go through the play-in round. For success, it all starts with Heat star Jimmy Butler, who was a big reason why they made it deep into the playoffs from the eighth seed, even if they lost to the Denver Nuggets after five games.
In an interview with SLAM magazine, Butler discussed a variety of issues, including the “three things” required to win an NBA title. He emphasizes the level of play, health, and finally being “lucky” as the primary traits needed to acquire the glory that the Miami franchise has not won since 2013.
“Nobody can tell you anything right now,” Butler says. “To win a championship, you must have three characteristics: you must be playing your best basketball at the appropriate time, you must be healthy, and you must be fortunate. That’s just the way things are. So no one can tell right now who will have all three of those characteristics.
Butler is searching for his first championship after making two NBA Finals appearances with the Heat in 2020, losing to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, with the other against the aforementioned Nuggets. In each postseason stint, the nickname “Playoff Jimmy” is attached as he is known for exploding during that time, but reassures that it is “not a thing.”
“That’s not something for the hundredth time,” Butler told SLAM. “There is no such thing as Playoff Jimmy. Jimmy is emo. Jimmy is a footballer. Jimmy is a tennis player. Daddy Jimmy, the thing. Zaddy Jimmy is the thing. But Playoff Jimmy? Not so much.”
Butler’s teammates on Heat talk about his mentality heading into playoffs
While Butler does not believe “Playoff Jimmy” exists, his teammate Caleb Martin does sense a “mental shift” when the postseason rolls around. Martin refers to Butler as “very strategic” and knows when it is “time to ramp up” in order to be his best self and perform at the highest level.
“I think him having the experience of going through this phase so many times, he knows how to time stuff up with his body, and then [there’s] the mental part of it, too, him just being so steady mentally,” he said. “He is highly strategic. He understands when it’s time to ramp up. He is aware that certain games are more likely to do harm than others. He thinks about everything he does.
There is no doubt that Butler is regarded as one of the team’s two leaders, along with Bam Adebayo, who became captain after long-time Heat player Udonis Haslem departed. Jamal Cain, one of Miami’s younger players, inspires him in a variety of ways, including being “very comfortable in his own skin.”
“The first thing I noticed about Jimmy is that he’s really secure in his own skin. “He doesn’t care what others think of him,” Cain stated. “Seeing how he carried himself and how confident and comfortable he was in his skin only made me more comfortable being who I am.”
Butler talks about how the Heat organization is run
He was phenomenal in the postseason series against the No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 37.6 points per game, particularly in the final two games of the series, where he scored 56 and 42 points. However, he gives credit to his teammates, particularly the players and coaching staff, for how the Heat organization runs.
“We just have a different way of going about things,” he added. “Our coaching staff is concerned, and they are continually researching how we can get everyone on our roster to focus on their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. Ownership is concerned; they attend every practice and go by plane. We’re talking to each other. We really f*** with each other, which is good. I’m on the team. So I’m taking chances every time.”
“It’s the time where people really gotta think about going up against the Miami Heat and myself,” he said. “I know what I’m capable of, and I know what my team is capable of. Nobody wants to see us in a 7-game series, and we know that.”
Butler feels good about Miami with play-in game near
Butler also praised this season’s Heat team following their regular-season finale against the Toronto Raptors, saying he feels “good about the group.” He believes they are prepared for the difficulties ahead of them and that they can recreate the enormous excitement by returning to the NBA Finals.
“I feel comfortable about the group. And that was all I wanted to see in the last couple of games. I just wanted to feel it. I know my guys and the locker room. I can tell this group is ready. “That’s all you can ask for,” Butler stated. “We’re not the same group as last year, so we’re leaving that where it is and going forward with the group we have. But I’m very confident in the guys we have and know what they’re capable of, so we’ll see what we’ve got.”
Butler talks about how matchup against 76ers will be “very difficult”
Before the Heat can even consider the playoffs, they must first get through the play-in tournament, which they did last season, losing the first game to the Atlanta Hawks but narrowly beating the Chicago Bulls in the second. They ended as the eighth seed, so they will now meet the Philadelphia 76ers, with the winner facing the No. 2 seed New York Knicks.
“Just gotta go out there and compete, play basketball the right way and do something very difficult and it’s to win on Philly’s floor,” he said. “If you want to win a championship, you’re going to have to achieve that at this point in the season. Obviously, we have to do that if we want to reach 7.
If they lose in Philadelphia, they will face the winner of the 9-10 seed showdown between the Bulls and Hawks, with either being a rematch from last season. As Heat fans are accustomed to, it should be another exciting yet stressful postseason for Miami, led by their star, Butler.
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