Udonis Haslem spent his entire 20-year career with the Miami Heat, winning three NBA titles and playing with some of the best in the game, including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. He overlapped with All-Stars Chris Bosh, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro in that time as well. Of all the hoopers he played with, though, Haslem says Jimmy Butler was the smartest offensive player he ever teamed up with.
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That may come as a shock to most because LeBron is often cited for having one of, if not the highest basketball IQ in history. Wade may be third behind Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant when it comes to dynamic shooting guards who could do it all on the court.
Why, then, is Butler Haslem’s choice? It comes down to talent and making the most of what you’ve got.
“This takes nothing away from [LeBron] and D-Wade, but they just could go to a level that other people couldn’t go to,” Haslem said on the latest episode of The OGs podcast.
“Jimmy is very calculated,” he continued. “He has to be calculated. If you have a weakness, he has to find it. If you make a mistake, he has to exploit it. Bron and D-Wade, it don’t matter what your weakness is, they’re gonna go to the level they’re gonna go to, and they’re gonna leave your a** on the fifth floor while they go to the seventh and eighth.”
Butler inherited Wade’s mantle as the top dog on the Heat, and though he didn’t reach the same heights that “the Heatles” did, he was still a legendary frontman in his own right, helping Miami get to the NBA Finals on two occasions. Golden State will be relying on Butler’s careful calculations to keep the Warriors in the Playoffs.
The Warriors need Jimmy Butler’s craftiness to keep their season alive
Butler famously forced his way out of Miami earlier this year, and since leaving, he’s helped the Warriors turn their season around. With his help, Golden State got past the two-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round, but they’re now down 3-1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and they need Butler more than ever.
Steph Curry has already been ruled out of tonight’s Game 5 with his strained hamstring, which puts extra responsibility on Butler to carry Steve Kerr’s offense. The Warriors hung on to win Game 1 after Steph went down, but they’ve lost the last three without him as Butler has struggled to fill his shoes.
Butler didn’t live up to his Jimmy Buckets nickname at all in Game 4 as he attempted only 9 shots from the floor in 34 minutes, finishing with 14 points in a game that Golden State lost by 7.
The Wolves have one of the toughest defenses in the NBA, so the Warriors need Butler’s craftiness to save the day, especially since Curry is expected to return if the series makes it to Game 6.
Fans watch Butler try to keep the Warriors alive tonight at 9:30 p.m. on TNT.
