While the rest of the basketball world remains in awe of Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler’s performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, one of his teammates in big man Bam Adebayo isn’t exactly surprised.
Facing the possibility of a 0-3 series deficit from which no team has recovered from, Butler turned in a masterful performance of 40 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists, making 14 of 20 shots from the field and 12 of 14 free throws.
For the 23-year old Adebayo, however, Butler is just meeting the high expectations they have set for the 31-year old as their leader.
Bam on Jimmy Butler: "He's our max player and we expect him to do max player things."
He says Butler puts in so much work that not even some of his teammates know the extent of it.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) October 5, 2020
Adebayo is referring to the four-year, $142 million contract that Butler signed with the Heat after leaving the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason. Butler has proven himself to be worthy of the contract in his first year in South Beach, helping the Heat reach the Finals as the fifth seed with playoff averages of 22.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, while shooting 48.2% from the field.
The big man out of Kentucky added that they have seen the five-time All-Star put in the work, which resulted in standout performances in both Game 2 and Game 3, with Butler doing work that some of them don’t even see. But Adebayo, a first-time All Star and the runner-up to the league's Most Improved Player award, couldn’t help but take a playful jab at his teammate and his coffee business venture in the NBA Bubble.
https://twitter.com/highkin/status/1313177551104163841
Adebayo’s status for Game 4 of the Finals on Tuesday, meanwhile, remains uncertain. He played for 22 minutes in Game 1 before missing the rest of the game and Games 2 and 3 with a neck injury.
Follow Us
Subscribe