Miami Heat’s All-Star Jimmy Butler made it a habit to be at his best when the light shines the brightest. This is why it doesn’t surprise that it was Butler who willed the Heat to a 118-107 comeback win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics had a better first half, going on a break with an eight-point lead. But the second half was a whole other story, especially the third quarter. The Heat came out of the locker room as a team on a mission and absolutely demolished Boston with a 39-14 outing in the third period. The Celtics made the result more bearable in the fourth, but there was nothing they could do to avoid defeat.

Butler was the best player on the floor on Tuesday night, scoring 41 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists. The 32-year-old player was also dominant on the defensive side of the ball, picking up four steals and three blocks. Two of his steals came early in the third quarter and resulted in five points. This provided a spark Miami needed to turn things around.

“This level is high level, this competition, and he senses it, and he knows it,” said Heat’s head coach Erik Spoelstra after the game. “He feels it. And he was able to produce and put us in a position to feel comfortable to be able to win this game.”

Three more Heat players were in double digits against the Celtics, while Tyler Herro had 18 points and eight boards off the bench.

The Heat vs. Celtics series remains in Miami for Game 2, which is scheduled for Thursday night.

The post Jimmy Butler’s 41 Points Help Heat to 118-107 Win Over Celtics in Game 1 of ECF appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Not a lot of people expected to see Miami Heat in the NBA finals this season, which is why they enter the duel against the Los Angeles Lakers as overwhelming underdogs. But don’t tell that to Heat’s All-Star Jimmy Butler.

Asked about how Heat measures up to the Lakers ahead of the Finals series, Butler said that he and his teammates are “a really good team.” He then proceeded to brush off the notion that Miami is underdogs.

“Not going to say that we’re any better than anybody else, but I just don’t think that we’re underdogs. I don’t,” Butler explained. 

Butler is aware that not a lot of people see Heat going all the way, but that doesn’t bother him.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to do this our way, the Miami Heat way, and that way has worked for us all year long,” he added.

Jimmy Butler proved himself to be a big part of Miami’s success this season, being a leader for the team on and off the court. Throughout the postseason, Butler has been averaging 20.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.9 steals.

Miami Heat finished the regular season as a fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and was a popular projection for a second-round exit. However, Heat silenced the critics with a dominant performance in the opening series, sweeping the Indiana Pacers. Miami then proceeded to show that they are the real deal by eliminating Milwaukee Bucks, regular season’s best team, in just five games.

Heat secured the Lakers showdown by beating Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. They closed out the Celtics series with a 4-2 result.

The post Jimmy Butler Says the Heat aren’t Underdogs in NBA Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It appears that the All-Star guard Jimmy Butler didn’t enjoy his time with Philadelphia 76ers all that much. Speaking on The JJ Redick Podcast with Tommy Alter, Butler described his lone season in Philly as difficult.

The 76ers acquired Butler from Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018, with hopes to sign him to a long-term extension. However, the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, and the player ended up joining Miami Heat via sign-and-trade.

Now Butler says that his experience in Philadelphia was chaotic to say at least.

“It was difficult. It was so different” Butler shared. “On any given day, me as a person and as a player, I didn’t know who the [expletive] was in charge. I think that was my biggest thing. I didn’t know what the [expletive] to expect whenever I would go into the gym, whenever I go into the plane, whenever I got into the game.”

Despite his mixed feelings about 76ers organization, Jimmy Butler played some great basketball during his time there. Besides averaging 18.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, Butler also emerged as the team’s main closer. He was credited for lifting the young and inexperienced team in tough moments and almost managed to propel Philly in Eastern Conference finals.

Despite this, reports said that 76ers had certain doubts about Butler’s character, which made them hesitant about giving him a long-term contract. Heat, on the other hand, didn’t have similar restraints and didn’t hesitate to jump on the opportunity.

Butler played 54 games with Heat this season, averaging 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.

The post Jimmy Butler on His Time With 76ers: “It Was Difficult” appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Houston Rockets made a strong push for Jimmy Butler last season only to see their trade package revolving around four first-round picks rejected by Minnesota Timberwolves. Butler, who will be a free agent this summer, ended up with Philadelphia 76ers, but that didn’t stop Rockets from plotting a way to bring him to Houston.

According to Houston Chronicle’s Brian T. Smith, Rockets intend to “aggressively” pursue Butler this summer as they see him as an ideal fit for their team.

The issue here, however, is that Houston can’t sign Butler outright. The 29-year-old All-Star publicly said that he will demand a max contract, something that Rockets don’t have cap space for. This means that any potential deal between the two sides would include sign-and-trade.

One way that Jimmy Butler can end up with the Rockets is if he signs a max contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, and then gets traded to Houston. He could also take his $19 million player option in his current deal, and then get traded. Butler would then probably sign with the Rockets in 2020 in a similar arrangement in which the team landed Chris Paul.

While it remains to be seen how bad Butler wants to play in Houston, the reality is that Rockets will face strong competition for his services. He is one of the marquee free agents this summer with 76ers, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets being among teams that will offer him a contract this summer.

Butler played 65 games combined for Timberwolves and 76ers in this past season, averaging 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

The post Houston Rockets Reportedly Expected to “Aggressively” Pursue Jimmy Butler appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Philadelphia 76ers’ forward Jimmy Butler will become an unrestricted free agent this summer which allows him to sign with any NBA team. And while Butler can get the most money if he chooses to stay with the 76ers, it seems that this fact alone might not be enough to keep him in Philly.

During his recent chat with the reporters, Butler discussed his free agency and said that he will “get a max contract” anywhere he chooses to go, hinting that the money might not play an overwhelming role in his decision.

“Technically I think, knock on wood, I will get a max contract anywhere I choose to go,” – said Butler. “So if you are talking a four-year, five-year, that is more than enough money anyway. I think I still have more than enough money now from my first deal.”

Philadelphia 76ers acquired Jimmy Butler in November from Minnesota Timberwolves in a trade that sent Dario Saric and Robert Covington in the opposite direction. Since the trade gave them his Bird rights, 76ers can now offer Butler five-year, $188 million max contract. In case that the 29-year-old decides to sign elsewhere, he will be able to get a four-year contract worth $141 million.

Since coming to Philadelphia, Butler played 55 regular season games and averaged 18.2 points per game, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He upped his stats in the postseason, averaging 19.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists in series against Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors.

The post Jimmy Butler Says He Will “Get A Max Contract” Anywhere He Chooses appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Philadelphia 76ers managed to get an important win on the road in Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against Toronto Raptors on Monday night and tied the series 1-1. The 76ers were led by Jimmy Butler, who had an impressive performance contributing with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. This Butler’s excellence ended up being recognized after the game by Philly’s head coach Brett Brown.

Brown said that Butler adopted his grown-up alter ego James and called him “adult in the gym” and “a stud.”

“This was James Butler,” – said Brown. “That was the adult in the gym. … He was just a tremendous sort of rock. He willed us to a lot of different situations. … He was a stud. He really was an adult in the gym.”

After reminding everyone that his real name is Jimmy and not James at the post-game conference, Butler didn’t want to take the credit for the win, saying that it was “a team effort.” 

“It was a team effort,” – said Butler. “I always go back to defense. We get stops, and we’re taking off into the open floor. Guys are making plays, like Jo [Embiid] and Ben [Simmons]. … Whenever we’re playing like that, guarding like that, we’re such a good team.”

There is some truth in Jimmy Butler’s words, as the 76ers played great defense and managed to hold the Raptors on 36.3 percent shooting and freeze them at just 89 points, their lowest scoring games since December. Still, Butler took the majority of the scoring load, since none of the Philadelphia’s starters managed to score more than 12 points, and deserves a significant part of the credit for the win.

The 76ers and the Raptors will meet again on Thursday night when the series moves to Philadelphia for Game 3.

The post 76ers Coach Calls Jimmy Butler “A Stud” After Impressive Performance appeared first on SportzBonanza.

When Minnesota Timberwolves brought in Jimmy Butler last summer in a blockbuster trade with Chicago Bulls, they hoped that they would be able to sign him to a long-term contract extension. It looks like that won’t be the case since Butler reportedly wants out even before he becomes a free agent.

According to various sources around the league, Jimmy Butler and Timberwolves coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau met in Los Angeles on Tuesday where Butler asked to be traded. His preferred destinations include Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks, but he could expand his list depending on the market and team’s willingness to give him a five-year, $190 million deal.

Minnesota's Jimmy Butler has three preferred destinations for a trade, league sources tell ESPN: The Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks. Those three teams have max cap space to sign Butler as a free agent in July.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 19, 2018

While Butler openly told the Timberwolves organization that he doesn’t want to start the season in Minnesota, the team is currently determined to keep the 29-year-old for at least one more year.

Although it recently came up that Jimmy Butler is unhappy with the Minnesota Timberwolves because he doesn’t get along with team’s young star Karl-Anthony Towns, that isn’t the reason for the trade request according to sources. Instead, Butler cites his desire to play a central role in a big market team.

After his NBA career took on a slow start, Jimmy Butler ended up establishing himself as one of the league’s premier two-way players with the Chicago Bulls. He was named NBA All-Star in each of the previous four seasons while receiving four NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors, and being two-time All-NBA Third Team honoree.

After Bulls decided to go down the rebuilding route, Butler was traded to the Timberwolves in exchange for Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and the No. 7 overall pick in 2017 NBA Draft that became Lauri Markkanen.
In his lone season in Minnesota, Butler averaged 22.2 points, 3.4 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game.

The post Timberwolves’ All-Star Jimmy Butler Seeking a Trade to Nets, Clippers or Knicks appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Miami Heat’s All-Star Jimmy Butler made it a habit to be at his best when the light shines the brightest. This is why it doesn’t surprise that it was Butler who willed the Heat to a 118-107 comeback win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics had a better first half, going on a break with an eight-point lead. But the second half was a whole other story, especially the third quarter. The Heat came out of the locker room as a team on a mission and absolutely demolished Boston with a 39-14 outing in the third period. The Celtics made the result more bearable in the fourth, but there was nothing they could do to avoid defeat.

Butler was the best player on the floor on Tuesday night, scoring 41 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists. The 32-year-old player was also dominant on the defensive side of the ball, picking up four steals and three blocks. Two of his steals came early in the third quarter and resulted in five points. This provided a spark Miami needed to turn things around.

“This level is high level, this competition, and he senses it, and he knows it,” said Heat’s head coach Erik Spoelstra after the game. “He feels it. And he was able to produce and put us in a position to feel comfortable to be able to win this game.”

Three more Heat players were in double digits against the Celtics, while Tyler Herro had 18 points and eight boards off the bench.

The Heat vs. Celtics series remains in Miami for Game 2, which is scheduled for Thursday night.

The post Jimmy Butler’s 41 Points Help Heat to 118-107 Win Over Celtics in Game 1 of ECF appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Not a lot of people expected to see Miami Heat in the NBA finals this season, which is why they enter the duel against the Los Angeles Lakers as overwhelming underdogs. But don’t tell that to Heat’s All-Star Jimmy Butler.

Asked about how Heat measures up to the Lakers ahead of the Finals series, Butler said that he and his teammates are “a really good team.” He then proceeded to brush off the notion that Miami is underdogs.

“Not going to say that we’re any better than anybody else, but I just don’t think that we’re underdogs. I don’t,” Butler explained. 

Butler is aware that not a lot of people see Heat going all the way, but that doesn’t bother him.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to do this our way, the Miami Heat way, and that way has worked for us all year long,” he added.

Jimmy Butler proved himself to be a big part of Miami’s success this season, being a leader for the team on and off the court. Throughout the postseason, Butler has been averaging 20.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.9 steals.

Miami Heat finished the regular season as a fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and was a popular projection for a second-round exit. However, Heat silenced the critics with a dominant performance in the opening series, sweeping the Indiana Pacers. Miami then proceeded to show that they are the real deal by eliminating Milwaukee Bucks, regular season’s best team, in just five games.

Heat secured the Lakers showdown by beating Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. They closed out the Celtics series with a 4-2 result.

The post Jimmy Butler Says the Heat aren’t Underdogs in NBA Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It appears that the All-Star guard Jimmy Butler didn’t enjoy his time with Philadelphia 76ers all that much. Speaking on The JJ Redick Podcast with Tommy Alter, Butler described his lone season in Philly as difficult.

The 76ers acquired Butler from Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018, with hopes to sign him to a long-term extension. However, the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, and the player ended up joining Miami Heat via sign-and-trade.

Now Butler says that his experience in Philadelphia was chaotic to say at least.

“It was difficult. It was so different” Butler shared. “On any given day, me as a person and as a player, I didn’t know who the [expletive] was in charge. I think that was my biggest thing. I didn’t know what the [expletive] to expect whenever I would go into the gym, whenever I go into the plane, whenever I got into the game.”

Despite his mixed feelings about 76ers organization, Jimmy Butler played some great basketball during his time there. Besides averaging 18.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, Butler also emerged as the team’s main closer. He was credited for lifting the young and inexperienced team in tough moments and almost managed to propel Philly in Eastern Conference finals.

Despite this, reports said that 76ers had certain doubts about Butler’s character, which made them hesitant about giving him a long-term contract. Heat, on the other hand, didn’t have similar restraints and didn’t hesitate to jump on the opportunity.

Butler played 54 games with Heat this season, averaging 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.

The post Jimmy Butler on His Time With 76ers: “It Was Difficult” appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Houston Rockets made a strong push for Jimmy Butler last season only to see their trade package revolving around four first-round picks rejected by Minnesota Timberwolves. Butler, who will be a free agent this summer, ended up with Philadelphia 76ers, but that didn’t stop Rockets from plotting a way to bring him to Houston.

According to Houston Chronicle’s Brian T. Smith, Rockets intend to “aggressively” pursue Butler this summer as they see him as an ideal fit for their team.

The issue here, however, is that Houston can’t sign Butler outright. The 29-year-old All-Star publicly said that he will demand a max contract, something that Rockets don’t have cap space for. This means that any potential deal between the two sides would include sign-and-trade.

One way that Jimmy Butler can end up with the Rockets is if he signs a max contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, and then gets traded to Houston. He could also take his $19 million player option in his current deal, and then get traded. Butler would then probably sign with the Rockets in 2020 in a similar arrangement in which the team landed Chris Paul.

While it remains to be seen how bad Butler wants to play in Houston, the reality is that Rockets will face strong competition for his services. He is one of the marquee free agents this summer with 76ers, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets being among teams that will offer him a contract this summer.

Butler played 65 games combined for Timberwolves and 76ers in this past season, averaging 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

The post Houston Rockets Reportedly Expected to “Aggressively” Pursue Jimmy Butler appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Philadelphia 76ers’ forward Jimmy Butler will become an unrestricted free agent this summer which allows him to sign with any NBA team. And while Butler can get the most money if he chooses to stay with the 76ers, it seems that this fact alone might not be enough to keep him in Philly.

During his recent chat with the reporters, Butler discussed his free agency and said that he will “get a max contract” anywhere he chooses to go, hinting that the money might not play an overwhelming role in his decision.

“Technically I think, knock on wood, I will get a max contract anywhere I choose to go,” – said Butler. “So if you are talking a four-year, five-year, that is more than enough money anyway. I think I still have more than enough money now from my first deal.”

Philadelphia 76ers acquired Jimmy Butler in November from Minnesota Timberwolves in a trade that sent Dario Saric and Robert Covington in the opposite direction. Since the trade gave them his Bird rights, 76ers can now offer Butler five-year, $188 million max contract. In case that the 29-year-old decides to sign elsewhere, he will be able to get a four-year contract worth $141 million.

Since coming to Philadelphia, Butler played 55 regular season games and averaged 18.2 points per game, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He upped his stats in the postseason, averaging 19.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists in series against Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors.

The post Jimmy Butler Says He Will “Get A Max Contract” Anywhere He Chooses appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Philadelphia 76ers managed to get an important win on the road in Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against Toronto Raptors on Monday night and tied the series 1-1. The 76ers were led by Jimmy Butler, who had an impressive performance contributing with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. This Butler’s excellence ended up being recognized after the game by Philly’s head coach Brett Brown.

Brown said that Butler adopted his grown-up alter ego James and called him “adult in the gym” and “a stud.”

“This was James Butler,” – said Brown. “That was the adult in the gym. … He was just a tremendous sort of rock. He willed us to a lot of different situations. … He was a stud. He really was an adult in the gym.”

After reminding everyone that his real name is Jimmy and not James at the post-game conference, Butler didn’t want to take the credit for the win, saying that it was “a team effort.” 

“It was a team effort,” – said Butler. “I always go back to defense. We get stops, and we’re taking off into the open floor. Guys are making plays, like Jo [Embiid] and Ben [Simmons]. … Whenever we’re playing like that, guarding like that, we’re such a good team.”

There is some truth in Jimmy Butler’s words, as the 76ers played great defense and managed to hold the Raptors on 36.3 percent shooting and freeze them at just 89 points, their lowest scoring games since December. Still, Butler took the majority of the scoring load, since none of the Philadelphia’s starters managed to score more than 12 points, and deserves a significant part of the credit for the win.

The 76ers and the Raptors will meet again on Thursday night when the series moves to Philadelphia for Game 3.

The post 76ers Coach Calls Jimmy Butler “A Stud” After Impressive Performance appeared first on SportzBonanza.

When Minnesota Timberwolves brought in Jimmy Butler last summer in a blockbuster trade with Chicago Bulls, they hoped that they would be able to sign him to a long-term contract extension. It looks like that won’t be the case since Butler reportedly wants out even before he becomes a free agent.

According to various sources around the league, Jimmy Butler and Timberwolves coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau met in Los Angeles on Tuesday where Butler asked to be traded. His preferred destinations include Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks, but he could expand his list depending on the market and team’s willingness to give him a five-year, $190 million deal.

Minnesota's Jimmy Butler has three preferred destinations for a trade, league sources tell ESPN: The Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks. Those three teams have max cap space to sign Butler as a free agent in July.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 19, 2018

While Butler openly told the Timberwolves organization that he doesn’t want to start the season in Minnesota, the team is currently determined to keep the 29-year-old for at least one more year.

Although it recently came up that Jimmy Butler is unhappy with the Minnesota Timberwolves because he doesn’t get along with team’s young star Karl-Anthony Towns, that isn’t the reason for the trade request according to sources. Instead, Butler cites his desire to play a central role in a big market team.

After his NBA career took on a slow start, Jimmy Butler ended up establishing himself as one of the league’s premier two-way players with the Chicago Bulls. He was named NBA All-Star in each of the previous four seasons while receiving four NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors, and being two-time All-NBA Third Team honoree.

After Bulls decided to go down the rebuilding route, Butler was traded to the Timberwolves in exchange for Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and the No. 7 overall pick in 2017 NBA Draft that became Lauri Markkanen.
In his lone season in Minnesota, Butler averaged 22.2 points, 3.4 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game.

The post Timberwolves’ All-Star Jimmy Butler Seeking a Trade to Nets, Clippers or Knicks appeared first on SportzBonanza.