There’s a strong argument that Jimmy Butler would definitely eat the Celtics alive in game two. The man is borderline obsessive at the moment.
Still, a few things didn’t help Boston’s cause as they lost 111-105, leaving them 2-0 down and the series heading to Miami on Sunday. Initially, Joe Mazzulla decided to cover Butler as a single. Even with hindsight, I don’t necessarily disagree with the strategy.
I watch the defense cut its own throat night after night by over-helping the shooters. Taking the reactionary guesswork out of this equation and simply tying everyone to their job and forcing Butler to repeatedly fire controversial shots is at least a viable plan.
But while talking nonsense with butler? That’s just, shall we say, unwise. We all understand these guys are competitors and this is the heat of a massive moment. But Butler is on fire right now. Giving him gas like Grant Williams did with 6:25 left in the fourth quarter isn’t all about trouble. It begs for it.
Coincidentally, Williams, who wasn’t in Boston’s rotation (he didn’t play a minute in Game 1), just hit a three-pointer. On the way back across the square, he started yelping in Butler’s ear. Check out Butler’s facial expression.
“He made a big hit. He started talking to me. I like that. I’m all for it. It does,” Butler said. “When people talk to me I’m like, ‘Okay, I know I’m a decent player. If you want to talk to me out of all the people you can talk to?’ But it’s just competition. i respect it [Williams] although. It’s a big part of what they’re trying to do. He changes. He can shoot the ball. I just don’t know if I’m the best conversationalist.
The man doesn’t lie. After Williams poked the bear, Butler shoved him into an old-fashioned 3-point play on the ensuing possession and the two ended up neck and neck.
Including the Butler throw, the Heat surpassed Boston 24-9 as the game progressed. Butler had nine of those points in the fourth quarter, including that “too small” hit.
When Jaylen Brown was asked after the game if Williams made a mistake by fueling Butler with inappropriate trash talk, he simply replied, “Next question.”
Wasn’t Brown interested in acknowledging the Williams incident because he believed Williams had made a mistake but didn’t want to offend his teammates, or because he felt it was an irrelevant storyline? I could be both I would rather opt for the former. It seems like it’s easy to say, “Hey, this has nothing to do with why we lost this game.”
I’m in the middle here. I think Butler has become indispensable in these playoffs and he would most likely do his thing as the game progressed, especially against singles coverage, even if the entire Celtics organization had shut up.
I also agree with Butler. He’s not the best conversationalist. In the end, it’s up for debate whether Williams hurt Boston’s chances of winning this game. But he certainly didn’t help them.