– The Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler (22), Max Strus (31) and Bam Adebayo (13) celebrate during the second half of Game 6 of the NBA’s second-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, May 12. 2022, in Philadelphia. AP
There is no doubt that this Miami Heat is something great, worthy of the best Hollywood movie or a video game, the pity is that many have missed it. So step by step he has been doing his job knocking down rival to rival to advance to the next level.
His last victim was the Philadelphia quintet, whom he defeated at home on May 13 with a score of 99-90 to win the series 4-2 and stand in the Eastern Conference Finals, where he awaits the winner of the duel between Celtics and Bucks.
The Sicilian defense with the Bam Adebayo rook, the frontal attack of King Jimmy Butler, an unsung hero as Bishop Max Struss, the knight PJ Tucker as a draft and a group of pawns ready to sacrifice, got the checkmate in the Gamma Gambit proposed by chess player Erik Spoelstra, for Doc Rivers to bow his monarch.
The first game of these finals will be played at the Heat’s stronghold, the FTX Arena, next Tuesday, May 17 (8:30 pm TV: ESPN) and tickets for this series are now on sale through ticketmaster.com.
The Heat, after winning their three games at home against the Sixers, managed to get strong at the Wells Fargo Center in Game 6 thanks to an extraordinary 32-point performance by Butler, who came to Miami precisely from Philadelphia.
“I love being here in Miami,” Butler said after the win. “I love the group of guys we have and I’m not going to change anything that happened. I am here for a reason. We’re going to ride this wave and take it back to the 305, get ready for the next round and move on to this championship.”
Butler settled a pending account with the 76ers, who did not do their best to retain him and that in Game 6, as in the rest of these playoffs, nobody could stop him. At the end of the games he headed to the locker room he yelled: “Tobias Harris on me?!” The Heat forward beat Harris, who did receive a million-dollar contract from Philadelphia.
And it is that Jimmy “Bucket”, as he is nicknamed, taught Harris how to win, James Harden, what a leader is and made his friend Joel Embiid miss him once again. In the end, the Heat did not believe in the Embiid effect, who ended up exhausted, after making a great effort that he called “lose or lose”, since there was no way he won.
“I love the Miami Heat, man. I’m glad I’m here, but I have a lot of respect and love for Joel Embiid,” Butler said.
Butler is being the best player in these playoffs, with an elite defense, remarkable leadership and ferocious offense, averaging 28.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Jimmy is without a doubt the true MVP today.
“Now I’m where I belong,” Butler said. “I am very grateful that Pat Riley believed in me, as well as Coach Spo, who told me, ‘Find a way to get us where we want to go.’ I’m on track to do it, but I’m trying to tell everyone that he couldn’t do it without these guys. They believe in me, I believe in them.”
The Heat already have eight of the 16 wins they need to be champions, after winning the first series 4-1 against the Hawks and the semifinals 4-2 against the Sixers. Now the road is presumed more complicated, whether the Bucks or the Celtics are their next rival and, if they pass it, even more so with the West champion, in the NBA Finals.
This Friday the 13th, Miami’s rival could be known, if Milwaukee wins Game 6 at home; but if the Celtics win, there will be Game 7 in Boston on Sunday.
Game 2 of the Eastern finals will be played on Thursday the 19th (TV: ESPN) also at the FTX Arena. Game 3 and 4 will be on May 21 and 23 away from home (TV:ABC). If necessary, he returns to Miami for Game 5 on May 25, out Game 6 and closes out Game 7 on May 29 at FTX Arena (TV: ESPN). All games will be played starting at 8:30 p.m.
