Former Chicago Bulls star Jimmy Butler continues to push the Miami Heat forward in the playoffs, now to face the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
The NBA Finals matchup is set, and one of the players involved is the former Chicago Bulls star shooting guard/small forward Jimmy Butler. “Jimmy G. Buckets” pushed the five-seed Miami Heat to a series win in the Eastern Conference Finals over the three-seed Boston Celtics on the night Sep. 27 to move onto the NBA Finals to face the top seed out of the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers.
The consistency and leadership that Butler put on display throughout the Heat’s dominant run through the Eastern Conference in the playoffs this year up to this point was nothing short of amazing. The Heat have only lost three games in their playoff run to date, with two of those coming against the Celtics.
And the lone other loss for Butler and the Heat in the playoffs thus far came in their impressive five-game series upset win over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the second round.
Before beating the Bucks in the second round of the playoffs, the Heat swept the four-seed Indiana Pacers in the first round.
However, the biggest test to date it appears will come for Butler and the Heat in the NBA Finals as they face superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Game 1 of the NBA Finals takes place on Sep. 30, with tip off at 8 p.m. CT. LeBron and AD just worked past the stingy Denver Nuggets in a five-game series in the Western Conference Finals.
There was not really a difficult test that the Lakers faced either up to this point. They worked through the eight-seed Portland Trail Blazers in a five-game series in the first round, and then worked through the four-seed Houston Rockets in five in the second round.
Both the Lakers and Heat have only lost three games prior to tip-off of the NBA Finals. It was just more surprising the fashion in which Butler and the East’s five-seed were able to beat teams like the Bucks and Celtics the way they did.
Up to this point in the playoffs, Butler averaged 20.7 points per game, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.6 blocks. He shot 45.7 percent from the field, a much improved 36.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 84.8 percent from the free-throw line.
For the first time in his career to date, Butler will get his shot in the NBA Finals. The furthest he ever made it in the playoffs during his run with the Bulls at the beginning of his career was the second round. Even making it to the East Finals was a first for Butler.