"Himmy" Butler. You heard it here first.
Butler's legendary 56-point playoff performance in Monday night's 119-114 game-four win against Milwaukee not only gave the eighth-seeded Miami Heat a 3-1 series lead over the top-seeded Bucks, but it put the rest of the NBA on notice: Playoff Jimmy is, once again, a problem.
Unless you ask Jimmy himself, who claims, contrary to a stockpile of proof collected over the past few years, that he doesn't turn it up a notch in the postseason. He's putting in work on the court, but it's just more of the same (or so he claims).
Asked directly by Five Reasons Sports' Brady Hawk if he was ready to fess up to being a different beast come playoff time, Jimmy Butler continued to play coy.
"It's not a thing. It's not. I just be hooping."
Confirmed. Jimmy Butler is hooping. In his infamous words uttered during Miami's 2020 NBA Finals run in the COVID bubble — come playoffs, he's "stupidly locked in."Jimmy Butler on “playoff Jimmy”:
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 25, 2023
"It's not a thing. It's not. I just be hooping." 🗣️
(h/t @ohnohedidnt24)
pic.twitter.com/gJwISyD3sr
Jimmy, we love you — but Playoff Jimmy is a real phenomenon. Let's review the evidence.
Monday night's performance was historic: The only players to score more in a playoff game were Michael Jordan with 63 in 1986, Elgin Baylor with 61 in 1962, and Donovan Mitchell with 57 in 2020. It's the latest chapter in Butler's playoff lore that points to him morphing into a different player when the postseason arrives.
While Butler's career averages of 20.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 101 playoff games don't burst off the stat sheet, his four-year resume of postseason performances with Miami is beginning to reach franchise-defining, statue-building levels.
Beginning with his first year in Miami, which ended with an NBA Finals appearance inside the league's Orlando-based COVID bubble, Butler has put on a different show when the postseason pressure is on.
The 2020 playoff run will be remembered for his 40-point triple-double in game three against the Lakers and images of him slumped over the baseline table in game four at the tail end of a second triple-double that staved off elimination.
After a quick four-game exit in the 2021 playoffs, Butler was back at his heroics again during last season's run, dropping then-career highs of 47 and 45 points in games against the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks, respectively. Playoff Jimmy put up four 40-plus point games during last season's postseason run.
Playoff Jimmy is such a thing that there are now compilation videos being produced specifically dedicated to his 40-plus point postseason games with the Miami Heat — it's a thing, Jimmy!
Speaking of 40-point games, just one stat is all a judge would need to rule that Playoff Jimmy is a distinct force on the court: Since the start of the 2020 playoffs, Butler has had seven 40-point games in the postseason, compared to only eight 40-point games in the regular season in his entire career.
Wind that back — Butler has scored 40 points eight times in 754 career regular season games, but in 101 career playoff games, he's done it seven times?
Yeah. Playoff Jimmy is a thing.
