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When the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Jimmy Butler from the Minnesota Timberwolves back in November, there were some people who were worried Butler would cause problems for Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and the rest of the Sixers locker room like he did with the Chicago Bulls and Timberwolves.
Butler didn't help his cause when a report from ESPN stated he aggressively challenged Sixers head coach Brett Brown during a film session. Pundits began to say Philly made a mistake by trading for Butler and that he wouldn't mesh well with Embiid and Simmons as the season moved along.
Those critics were completely wrong, though, as Butler, Embiid and Simmons have developed great chemistry and the Sixers are one game away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. In fact, Embiid says Butler has helped him become a better player and leader, something we didn't hear from the players in Minnesota about Jimmy.
Here's a portion of Joel Embiid's comments from earlier today about Jimmy Butler's leadership, and all I could think of was Jack Nicholson's line in As Good As It Gets.#PhilaUnite#HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/O6c9oPUPiX
— brianseltzer (@brianseltzer) May 11, 2019
Butler and Embiid have seemed to connect with each other very well. That's evident on the floor and during Sixers postgame press conferences, where Butler and Embiid are always joking with one another and complementing each other's game.
Butler has been spectacular for the Sixers in the 2019 playoffs so far. The four-time All-Star is averaging 19.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists. Embiid, who has been dealing with knee soreness and an upper respiratory infection, is putting up 20.1 points and 10.4 rebounds.
The Sixers are going to need Butler and Embiid to make big plays in Game 7 against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday if they want to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
