Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is, by his own account, “stupidly locked in” for the playoffs and a first round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks,.
How locked in is Jimmy Butler for the playoffs? Stupidly locked in. pic.twitter.com/eNx03QNyE5
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) May 21, 2021
“I think I’m stupidly locked in, I can tell you that,” he said Thursday. “The amount of film that I watch, the amount of time that I spend on the court working on my game, trying to figure out where everybody’s going to be at on the floor. It’s a different type of year for everybody. I’m not the only one that’s like this, everybody is, but I think they expect me to be dialed in, locked in. Be a completely different individual player on both sides of the ball, in every aspect of the game, and I like it. It’s kinda like you don’t hold anything back and you leave everything out there. That’s what I’m here for. ”
This quote is just very on-brand for Butler, the guy who established himself last year as a bonafide star in leading the Heat to the NBA Finals in the bubble and is having an under the radar All-NBA caliber season this year. Compared to last year, he’s scoring more, averaging more steals, averaging a career-high in assists and having his overall best shooting season in lifting the Heat to the 6-seed.
It’s also funny considering he’s the same guy who once played with third-string Wolves players in practice and played the team’s starters off the court just to prove a point. Butler is something like the NBA’s Chuck Norris where there’s a lot of myth surrounding the truth of actually how good he is. Quotes like “I think I’m stupidly locked in” should called Jimmy-isms or Butler-ims or something more bombastic.
Butler also had another very tremendous quote Thursday when asked about ex-Bulls teammate Bobby Portis, who now plays for the Bucks.
Jimmy Butler, smiling, on Bucks’ Bobby Portis, who he played with in Chicago:
“The role that he plays for them is key. I’m happy for him. I’m proud of him. I know where he comes from. I wish him continued success.“Just not in this f***ing series.”
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) May 20, 2021
It is, however, fun to have Butler — with this persona and presence — taking the Heat into the playoffs to face the Bucks who, mind you, they beat last year in the playoffs en route to the NBA Finals. It’s a 3-6 matchup this year, but once again the Heat are the underdog as the lower seed seeking an upset. To get there, we are apparently going to see the “stupidly locked in” Butler try and ruin the Bucks’ title chances.