The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
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Jimmy Butler wants you to believe 'Playoff Jimmy' isn't a real thing. He's not fooling anyone
Not only is "Playoff Jimmy" real, the Heat need that Butler to win a title.
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Though, Jimmy Butler is averaging just 17 points through the first two games of the NBA Finals, Game 3 feels like a good time to hammer the over on his points prop (which is 25.5 by the way).
The reason is because he just tried to convince the world that “Playoff Jimmy” isn’t a thing, which couldn’t have been anything other than an attempt to minimize expectations before he inevitably does “Playoff Jimmy” things.
Here’s what Butler said during Wednesday’s media availability:
“I’m not a scorer. Just because I score a lot of points one game, that doesn’t make you a scorer. I’m not a volume shooter. I don’t do any of that. I don’t press to score. I only press to win. … This ‘Playoff Jimmy’ narrative, it’s not a thing. I just want to win.”
Yeah, yeah, we ain’t tryna hear that Jimmy. We all saw the games. And the stats back up everything we witnessed with our own eyes. “Playoff Jimmy” is absolutely a thing.
Sure, during the regular season, he’s not a volume shooter — Butler’s 13.9 shot attempts per game this season didn’t even crack the top 60. But that number is up to 20.2 in the playoffs, which would have put him in the top 15. His scoring average is up from 22.9 point to 27.3. He had similar increases last postseason.
More importantly, he does it without sacrificing much efficiency. In fact, he’s shooting the three better on more than double the attempts this postseason. And that’s the magic of Playoff Jimmy. He does what his team needs him to do to win, and oftentimes that requirement is to be a volume scorer.
When Butler hits his 27-point average this postseason, the Heat are 9-1. When he falls below that number, they’re 4-5. So, yeah, not only is “Playoff Jimmy” a thing, it’s the only thing that can deliver Miami a title this year.
One person rooting against “Playoff Jimmy” and the Miami Heat is rapper Tobe Nwigwe, but the Houston-area native has a good reason why.
The Denver Nuggets adopted his song “Fye Fye” as their unofficial anthem, so he had no choice but to adopt them as his official official finals pick.
“I put all my chips on the Nuggets,” the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts actor told FTW’s Matt Scalici. “No disrespect to Jimmy Buckets. I love what Jimmy Butler has been able to do and Miami and the rest of the Heat, they are some dogs. But unfortunately, Denver Nuggets are even dog-ier.”
Dog-ier. I’ll have to adopt that word.
One to Watch
(All odds via DraftKings)
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Nuggets (-3, -155) at Heat (+135), O/U 213.5, 8:30 p.m. ET
It was huge for Miami to get a win in Denver, and now the Nuggets have to try to do the same in Miami, starting with Game 3 on Wednesday. Now that they’ve had a chance to adjust to Miami’s adjustments, I think they’ll do just that. Besides, the Heat can’t make half of their threes again, right?
Shootaround
— Chris Paul said his daughter was bullied at school about his NBA career
— NBA consensus mock draft 2.0
— A bettor dropped $3.5 million on a Nuggets Game 3 win
— Ex-Bull Scott Williams hopes MJ and Scottie Pippen work things out