Once again, the Miami Heat are unable to win without former great Jimmy Butler.
A year ago, he was injured during their Play-In game. This time, after trading Butler midseason, they enter Monday’s Game 4 of their first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers trailing 0-3. Tyler Herro, who has averaged 22.3 points in the series, told The Athletic an eye-opening comment on what Butler meant for his chances of winning before their terrible Game 3 defeat.
“Obviously, I know I need Jimmy to win,” Herro explained. “If we had Jimmy right now, I believe it would be a very different situation. We probably wouldn’t even be the eighth seed.
So finding that medium ground between, “Damn, we need him,” and, “That’s his career, and what he wants is ultimately his right.” It was difficult to be in the middle of both sides.” Herro, of course, was a nice surprise as a rookie postseason contributor during Miami’s 2020 Finals run. Following that, he did not perform to his full potential in the 2021 and 2022 Playoffs, and he missed nearly the entire 2023 Finals run after being injured diving for a lost ball in the first game of the playoffs. Despite Butler’s injury in Game 2, the Golden State Warriors lead the series 2-1 as the seventh seed. In addition, Butler helped the Warriors win 23 of 30 regular-season games. Herro understands how essential Butler was to the Heat. “I’ve known Jimmy for five, six years, obviously being with him every day, just seeing how he is as a basketball player and how he really makes his teammates better,” Herro told the crowd. “He makes the right play all the time, just seeing that competitive edge that he brought.” Despite Butler’s injury in Game 2, the Golden State Warriors are leading the series 2-1 as the seventh seed. The Warriors also won 23 of 30 regular-season games with Butler in the lineup. Herro realizes how important Butler was to the Heat. “I’ve known Jimmy for five, six years, obviously being with him every day, just seeing how he is as a basketball player and how he really makes his teammates better,” Herro told reporters. “He makes the right play all the time, just seeing that competitive edge that he brought.”
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