Getty Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is ready for the playoffs and wants to carry the load.
Don’t expect to see Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler scrolling through Reddit or any of the NBA blogs. He doesn’t pay attention to the standings and never goes on the internet. Check that, World Wide Web.
“I don’t be on the World Wide Web like that. So I can’t tell you who is where,” Butler told reporters after Wednesday’s 107-87 win. “I know in our team meeting we talk about it. All we got to do is get there [to the playoffs]. We get there, us as a team, I’ll handle the rest.”
Butler made sure to clarify that he wasn’t speaking for everyone on the Heat roster, but the message was clear. The five-time All-Star is ready to put the Superman cape on for another championship run, as long as his Miami teammates are ready for the ride. The 31-year-old star has never won a title despite appearing in 76 playoff games and averaging 18.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists.
“I can’t speak for everybody,” Butler said. “I don’t care.”
The comments were vintage Butler and registered even more since they came one week after Ben Simmons — Butler’s former teammate on the Philadelphia 76ers — revealed that he doesn’t even permit ESPN to be put on the TVs in his house. Nothing, unless it’s a game.
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Important Road Trip Coming Up for Heat
The Heat (31-28) only has 13 games left on the schedule to make its playoff push starting on Friday night in Atlanta. The team has four games in six days and currently sits in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, half a game behind the Boston Celtics (31-27) for the sixth seed.
They would like to leap-frog over Boston and catch Atlanta, though. The Hawks (32-27) own the fifth seed and the two teams have split their two-game series so far this season so Friday night’s matchup is critical.
💥 @Bam1of1 showed up BIG last night in San Antonio
“Our leaders understood and everybody understood how important this road trip is, and they wanted to set the tone for us,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Hopefully, we don’t get too comfortable.”
Butler had 18 points and 11 assits — his 16th double-double this season — on Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs. Meanwhile, one-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo tallied a game-high 23 points.
Adebayo Mad About Sitting Out vs. Houston
Spoelstra decided to sit Adebayo out during Monday night’s win over the Houston Rockets in a precautionary move. The 6-foot-9 big man has been dealing with a lingering right knee injury all year, so the coach rested him alongside his other starters including Jimmy Butler (right ankle sprain) and Tyler Herro (foot soreness).
A day later, Spoelstra told reporters that Adebayo came up to him and expressed frustration about being benched. Remember, Adebayo hit that dramatic game-winner over the Brooklyn Nets. He wanted to keep the momentum going.
“I think he was really angry at all of us for not being able to play the Houston game,” Spoelstra said. “So I think he was just really wanting to get out there and compete.”
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