Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler infamously beefed with Indiana Pacers forward T.J. Warren earlier in the season. However, Butler is trying to kill the hype surrounding this matchup before the Heat take on the Pacers in the first round of the playoffs.
Butler spoke Sunday and said the beef with Warren is “something of the past.”
Jimmy Butler on matchup vs. T.J. Warren: "Look, I just play basketball. I'm going to go out there and be the best player on the floor. That's what Miami has me here to do. I'm not worried about nobody's matchup. We can kill that. That's dead. That's something of the past."
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) August 16, 2020
Butler and Warren first got into it during a game in early January, with the Heat star then taking the feud to social media after the game. Thanks to this, there was plenty of hype when Miami and Indiana faced off this past Monday in the first of two seeding game matchups.
Butler got the better of Warren in a 114-92 Heat victory. The All-Star stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block. Warren, who had been crushing it in the bubble, was held to just 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting. The Pacers forward had five rebounds but didn't record an assist, steal or block.
Neither player played in a rematch just days later on Friday. Warren is dealing with plantar fasciitis, but he practiced Sunday ahead of Tuesday's Game 1.
Warren and the Pacers finished with the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference thanks to their 45-28 record, but many view Butler and the fifth-seeded Heat as the favorite in the series. Miami finished just a game behind Indiana with a 44-29 record.
While Butler is trying to dull the hype for his matchup against Warren, the winner of that duel will be crucial when it comes to determining the series victor. So, eyes will be on these two players throughout the series.
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