[Highlight] Jimmy Butler (35 PTS, 12 REB, 11 AST) helps force a game 6 in duel against LeBron James (40 PTS, 13 REB, 7 AST) and the Lakers
If only Dragic and Bam were healthy :/ Not that the Heat would’ve won, but a lot of people forget Dragic had that bubble buff and was playing some of the best basketball of his career
The Dragon had some left in the tank shame he wasn’t healthy
He was Miami’s best scorer in those playoffs. Gogi will always be one of my favorites.
I think if they healthy, I’d have taken LAL in a highly competitive 6 games. Series certainly would have been a lot more memorable.
Unfortunate shit for the Jimmy era Heat that their two finals runs had their team dealing with big injuries both times while facing dominant and healthy WC teams 😬💀
Crazy part is that I feel that the #1 seed Heat would have matched up very well against the Warriors in ‘22.
I knew Butler was a superstar of the ages when he went for 47, 9 & 8 in G6 of the 2022 ECF.
Then followed that up with 35 in G7. If he makes that pull-up 3 (he was just a bit short) then the Heat probably make it to the Finals. Then in 2023 on an injured ankle he took over every 4th quarter (even in G6 before Derrick White’s buzzer beater).
I have never seen someone elevate their game more than Jimmy Butler does in the 4th quarters of consequencial playoff games.
As much as i hate it, brunson does often go like 3-12 for 3 quarters and end the game like 15-25. disgusting 4th quarter player
You know it’s real when a Celtics fan is giving props about a heat player.
That’s my pet peeve. We got terrible matchups against LA and Denver because we were too small. We would’ve matched up nicely against the warriors.
Combine that with Jimmy having his best playoff run in his career? It honestly would have been a real fun matchup.
I think if they healthy, I’d have taken LAL in a highly competitive 6 games.
It was already 6 games. If our leading scorer Dragic and best defender Bam are healthy the record is exactly the same? Obviously my flair means I’m biased, but feels wrong.
It was six games. Lakers however won 3 of those pretty convincingly and were close to ending the series in 5. With that said, my take on it isn’t any more valid than yours and is all speculation. For all we know, healthy Heat wins the series in a nail biter 6-7 games. 🤷♂️
You put Rondo on that Heat team they win the Championship.
Heat become favorite if those 2 are healthy. They were insane in the bubble. Two 20ppg guys
Bron and AD > Jimmy and Bam
Jimmy got two wins by himself.
Bam played well in the back half of that series, and it didn’t change much.
He was still very much injured and the Heat were missing their highest scorer in the playoffs. It would have changed quite a bit.
I sincerely doubt a young Bam was the difference vs that Lakers team. Maaaaybe if we’re talking about Bam these last few years.
We’re talking about the defensive anchor of the team AND Dragic.
Dragic > Lakers third option.
Then lakers shouldnt have needed 6 games to beat a heat team missing 2⁄3 of their top players while also starting 2 rookies lmao.
Jimmy Buckets doesn’t get talked about enough when it comes to the ringless greats. He was an absolute dog. Two runs to the finals is a serious accomplishment.
The one against the nuggets— i remember they were 8th seed and still cooked
ppl forget how absolutely torched the team was by the time we got to the finals. im not saying we beat the nuggets cuz they were almost a perfect counter to us but the team was basically dead on their feet and then had to play in denver lol
lost herro/dipo round 1, jimmy destroys his ankle round 2, gabe vincent sprains his ankle in the celtics series, it was a blood bath
When Butler suffers a serious injury (like in 2023 vs. the Knicks & in the 2025 playoffs) he still puts up 20/5/5 on his hyper efficiency.
In 2023 ECF & Finals he saved all his gas for the last 5 minutes of the 4th quater due to his ankle injury. G1, G2 & G6 were miraculous late 4th quater Butler runs vs. my Celtics (we still won G6).
Even in G5 vs. the Nuggets Jimmy hit 2 step back 3’s, got fouled on another 3 pointer & then put the Heat up 1 with an inside bucket. After struggling all game he almost wills the Heat to extend the series.
When he is healthy we saw the 2022 ECF barrage, the 2023 Milwaukee barrage, the 2020 Finals herculean performances, etc.
I would take to take this time to shout-out when Aaron Gordon fouled Jimmy Butler with his dong
he gets brought up a lot, it shines over a lot of his already real good career
This is the version of Jimmy that had us calling him Jimichael Butordan. Dude was unreal in the bubble.
His run 3 years later might have been even better…will never forget watching him drop 56 points against the Bucks
Miss bubble hoops
Me too
Was around this time when the NBA restarted in the bubble, crazy how it’s been 6 years
This doesn’t count because it happened in the bubble /s
Even if someone dismissed his great performance in 2020 due to the Bubble (which is very silly to do).
Butler performed even better in the 2022 ECF & the 2023 Milwaukee series (Milwaukee was a title contender & won in 2021).
Milwaukee didn’t even play bad, they probably would have won in 6 or 7 games if Butler didn’t have 56 & 42 in G4 & G5 lol.
And there’s people that say Klay Thompson is a better player
It’s crazy how winning changes the perception of an individual so much
Yea this was a fun series. Jimmy had ice on both legs, and limped off the court after this game and he looked absolutely spent. He gave everything he had and carried that team to that W. I remember being thoroughly impressed. I’ve always been a big Jimmy butler fan.
Nobody was stopping that 2020 Lakers team in a best of 7 but the Heat put up the best fight by far of that entire playoff run.
Sucks cause AD couldn’t miss but Bam and Goran getting hurt really put a damper on things.
I’m a fan of the game above all else and never wanna play an injured team. I wanna see a good game and I hate the “what-if’s” that come about after games where main players were injured. I was genuinely upset that Bam wasn’t available. I hate playing injured teams lol. Plus AD vs Bam is always a good show especially back then.
jimmy being that tired just puts into perspective how incredible lebron’s stamina is. 10 straight finals & he never really looked completely gassed or defeated. respect to jimmy either way
I remember seeing him limping after answering questions in the post-game scrum. Come Game 6, he looks lethargic and absolutely spent. Meanwhile, LeBron looked like….well, LeBron. He was still running and jumping all over the place like the cyborg he actually is. I remember just being baffled at how Jimmy had to give 120% just to match LeBron’s output and win 2 games meanwhile Bron was still fresh.
Butler had that thing going on like Dame did in his prime - like, he’s not the best player in the league, but you get him on the wrong night, and he can just absolutely fucking wreck your night and your series. “Elimination Game Jimmy” is the Jason Voorhees of Basketball.
In the two games Miami won Jimmy averaged a 38 point triple double and even in game 3 I’m pretty sure he was the first player to outscore rebound and assist bron in a finals game. Edit: also crazy how Lebron gets blamed for “passing” up a three on one paint shot for a wide open 3 for Danny Green.
Genuinely one of my favorite NBA games of all time.
I was rootin for Jimmy this game bc the lakers were tryin some psychological warfare with the Kobe jerseys
If Goran and Bam stay healthy, we win another chip. Fuckin way she goes bud.
TAKE ME BACK
These mfers were hooping
Yeah this was just not good TV
Here come the heat fans who believe they would’ve won if they had dragic. Lmao.
dragic…and bam? its crazy to think we wouldve won when we won 2 games without 2 of our top 3 players? omg we’re so delusional
oh and jimmy rolled his ankle twice in game 1
Is it really that crazy? It went to 6 games without him and he was Miami’s best scorer in those playoffs. It was clear that Jimmy was gassed, and it would have introduced a dynamic to the Heat’s offense that would have been pretty difficult for the Lakers to guard.
Lakers weren’t going to struggle to guard anyone. They had Danny Green, Alex Caruso and KCP. It’s the best defensive guard rotation of the last decade besides OKC.
Also it was about as uncompetitive a 6 game series as you can imagine.
weird how a series can be uncompetitive when one team is missing 2⁄3 of their best players and the best player is dealing with an ankle injury, strange
it went 6 games without Miami’s second best scorer and the third option and defensive anchor missing 2 games and playing hurt the rest of the series.
It wouldve been a different series for sure.
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Everyone in the 2020 conference finals met again in 2023 lol
So I am not sure why anyone thinks the bubble has less meaning.