Heat’s Jimmy Butler keeps it real on turning it on during stretch run of NBA season

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler did an interview with Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report where he addressed the topic that he plays better during the home stretch of the regular season into the playoffs. He would bluntly say “I'm just different” before going into detail expressing that every player should be playing their best when the games matter the most.

“I'm just different,” Butler said. “I think this is when you're supposed to be playing your best basketball and you have to find a way to get your team to win these games when you're talking about the playoffs coming around. But even right now, you're getting everybody into their roles. You're getting in a rhythm. And with my music, I'm getting in my rhythm. Speaking for myself and everybody else in this locker room, we want to win. That's our focus.”

Heat's Butler deems to be “playing the long game”

So far this season, Butler is averaging 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 50.1 percent from the field. He would go into it further talking about how “it's just me playing the long game throughout the season” and keeping “a couple things in your pocket all year long.”

“You just keep a couple things in your pocket all year long, and whenever you do it at a certain point of the year, they deem it something else like ‘Playoff Jimmy,'” Butler said. “But it's just me playing the long game throughout the season. I know that I'm really good at this game, and I know I could do a lot of things well on the basketball court. There are just times when you have to step it up a notch. You can't show the opponent everything now. You have to always keep people guessing.”

There is no doubt Butler turns on a switch starting at this point of the season which translates into the “playoff Jimmy” that people like to tout. He especially showed that last season where he led the No. 8 seeded Heat all the way to the NBA Finals off the back of electric performances, knocking out teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics.

He is looking to do it again this season as the Heat are 33-26 which puts them eighth in the Eastern Conference. Miami starts a two-game home stand Saturday as they will face the Utah Jazz.