![]() For example, here is ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on ‘The Hoop Collective Podcast’ ( hat tip Bleacher Report): There were multiple reports about that in the wake of the Finals. The question is how the Heat get back to this stage in a summer where Max Strus and Gabe Vincent are free agents and about to get massive pay raises?ĭon’t be surprised if the Heat go big-game hunting and look for another star. “Our guys will be able to take that quality the rest of their careers that grit, the perseverance, the toughness, the ability to compete and put yourself out there for everybody to judge and to be able to handle different things, adversity, all that,” Erik Spoelstra said postgame. While they may have fallen just short of the ultimate prize, this Heat postseason run was one that should and will go down in Heat lore. This playoff run may have been the ultimate example of Heat culture, where hard work and discipline make the sum so much more than the individual parts. So, no, LeBron and Los Angeles aren’t in trouble yet.īut Butler is having a special series – on LeBron’s level – to at least threaten trouble. Butler’s performance seems ripe for regression – especially after his massive workload (43 minutes per game, offensive focal point, defending LeBron). That contest could also put a dent in Butler’s and LeBron’s series numbers. Up 3-2, they can close out in Game 6 tonight. It’s easier for LeBron to relish the matchup with the Lakers leading the series. So to be able to go against a fierce competitor like that is something I’ll look back on when I’m done playing. For me personally, I don’t know how many more opportunities I’m going to have. “One of the best competitors we have in our game. Bam Adebayo has also missed significant time.īutler is just putting the Heat on his back to keep this series tight. Goran Dragic has missed nearly the entire Finals and is unlikely to return. Though Durant outplayed LeBron in 2017, Durant ( whether or not he admits it) faced less on-court burden while playing with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala. Here are the playoff matchups with the highest harmonic mean game scores between opposing players since 1984:Īfter the 2017 Finals, Durant said he thought LeBron was passing the torch to him. Series where one player dominates and another player lags far behind don’t rank as highly. *Harmonic mean, as opposed to traditional average, credits even matchups. Only Kevin Durant (30.3) and LeBron (29.6) in the 2017 NBA Finals had a higher harmonic mean game score (29.9). ![]() The harmonic mean of Butler’s and LeBron’s game scores is 28.8 – second-highest between opposing players in all playoff series of this era. ![]() For perspective, that’s third among his 10 NBA Finals, trailing only 2017 (29.6) and 2018 (28.3). Butler’s game score (30.7) tops everyone since 1984, as far back as Basketball-Reference has data. Using game score to aggregate box-score statistics, Butler is having the best NBA Finals on record. ![]() ![]() LeBron: 30.2 points, 11.4 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.2 steals.Butler: 29.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 2.6 steals.LeBron has been, well, himself.Ĭombined, that creates one heck of an individual matchup. Jimmy Butler had a magnificent, once-in-a-lifetime, LeBron James-toppling performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.īutler has been amazing in this series. ![]()
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