What do we make on Jimmy Butler having a GOAT-level Finals?

[StrongLurk]

Butler was 20/7/6 player in the regular season.

These finals, he is 29/9/10 with 2.6 steals on 67.1 TS%. He has a 30.7 game score and 12.56 BPM...

To compare, 1991 MJ had 31/7/11 with 2.8 steals on 61.2 TS%. Had a 29.4 game score and a 16.76 BPM (insane).

Jimmy Butler is playing basically as good as 91 Jordan...I can't think of anything else except this bubble shit is completely different from the real NBA and is pretty ridiculous.

Donovan Mitchell had TWO 50-point games in the same series, Jamal Murray turned into Steph Curry, Nuggets had TWO 3-1 comebacks...

Even though I want Lebron to win another ring...I just can't help but feel the bubble is one giant asterisk. Players and teams are playing way different than they usually would.

[Lebron23]

Butler is getting superstar calls just like his father.

[BigKobeFan]

Butler is getting superstar calls just like his father.

Or bran is a choker like karl malone

[KD7]

It can't be an asterisk is everyone is playing on even terms

[StrongLurk]

It can't be an asterisk is everyone is playing on even terms

Okay so if everyone was playing on the moon, no asterisk then?

Jimmy Butler has literally had two of the greatest 3 NBA finals games EVER when looking at gamescore...Jimmy Butler.

It just doesn't make any sense how many B-tier all stars are having better playoff series than guys like Kobe ever had...

[3ball]

With no threes?

Obviously, you guys were wrong about MJ..

so take Butler's numbers and add 10 ppg for MJ to sweep of these lakers in the "MJ era" (perimeter player's era)

Btw, MJ already won championships shooting at today's standard, aka 39% on 4 attempts in 93' playoffs .. and 93' Finals and 92' Finals

But butler is showing that threes aren't needed.. his teammates hit the 3', and butler hits the 2's, which are made easier by the spacing his teammates provide..

[StrongLurk]

I want to repeat this, highest NBA finals gamescore ever for 1 game is Lebron James at 42.5 (2016 game 6).

The next highest two are JIMMY BUTLER in game 3 (42) and game 5 (41.3) of THIS SERIES.

Two of the three best finals by game score in one finals series...honestly this bubble is kind of a joke.

[3ball]

I want to repeat this, highest NBA finals gamescore ever for 1 game is Lebron James at 42.5 (2016 game 6).

The next highest two are JIMMY BUTLER in game 3 (42) and game 5 (41.3) of THIS SERIES.

Two of the three best finals by game score in one finals series...honestly this bubble is kind of a joke.

How many threes for Butler?

How much mid-range?

Obviously, you guys were wrong about MJ..

so take Butler's numbers and add 10 ppg for MJ to sweep these lakers in the "MJ era" (perimeter player's era)

Btw, MJ already won championships shooting at today's standard, aka 39% on 4 attempts in 93' playoffs .. and 93' Finals and 92' Finals.. MJ always shot well at volume 3+ attempts, not bailouts (1.5 attempts basically every year)

But butler is showing that threes aren't needed.. his teammates hit the 3', and butler hits the 2's, which are made easier by the spacing his teammates provide.. Jordan would murder this format more than anyone ever could

[StrongLurk]

How many threes for Butler?

How much mid-range?

Obviously, you guys were wrong about MJ..

so take Butler's numbers and add 10 ppg for MJ to sweep these lakers in the "MJ era" (perimeter player's era)

Btw, MJ already won championships shooting at today's standard, aka 39% on 4 attempts in 93' playoffs .. and 93' Finals and 92' Finals

But butler is showing that threes aren't needed.. his teammates hit the 3', and butler hits the 2's, which are made easier by the spacing his teammates provide.. Jordan would murder this format more than anyone ever could

I know your desperate for attention, but please stop. I have never said anything about MJ except that he is the best NBA player ever. Don't lump me in with "you guys" because your crying for a response.

Anyways, what do we make of Jimmy Butler playing a better finals than Kobe, Bird, Duncan, Magic, etc. EVER had?

The only conclusion I can come to is this bubble smells fishy.

[ThatCoolKid]

The conclusion you make is that Jimmy Butler is a great player who has elevated his play on the biggest stage. If there is any asterik for this season, it is that the Lakers had a harder road by losing home court advantage and playing in a shooter friendly environment when shooting is their weakness.

[StrongLurk]

The conclusion you make is that Jimmy Butler is a great player who has elevated his play on the biggest stage. If there is any asterik for this season, it is that the Lakers had a harder road by losing home court advantage and playing in a shooter friendly environment when shooting is their weakness.

You are underestimating the term "elevated". Jimmy was MAYBE a top 15 player in the regular season...but is now playing like a top 5 player of ALL TIME. His play has "elevated" like 5 whole tiers...Magic, Bird, Kobe, never had finals this good.

I called the bubble being an asterisk months ago and after seeing it unfold, I'm not changing my thoughts on it.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Bubble hoops anything can happen because the hoops. Every scorer - shooter is an exaggerated version of themselves. No fans also makes it easier to shoot. Kawhi was even at 55% FG on 15 2 point attempts a game, which is better then any Durant playoff run. That was with Kawhi's game 7 struggles!

Murray is Curry, Mitchell is Wade, Anthony Davis is Dirk Nowitski. Every player is an exaggerated version of themselves because these hoops.

Next season should be harder if they leave the bubble and play in their regular arena hoops. However, still expect better then normal scoring- shooting if there's no fans again.

[SouBeachTalents]

Nah, he deserves credit far before talk of an asterisk. He went mano a mano with LeBron having a monster game and and came away with the win while saving his teams season, 2 games after dropping a 40 point triple double and beating the Lakers minus Bam & Dragic to save the Heat from a 3-0 death sentence.

You've been consistently using these playoffs to claim AD is this eras Hakeem, so you've been inconsistent regarding asterisks

[HBK_Kliq_2]

The only thing that is harder is the mental side of things with being committed to living in the bubble. Clippers (George in particular and maybe even Kawhi eventually) didn't adapt well to this.

[PeroAntic]

Jimmy Butler is one of the most underrated players of all time. Just because he doesnt fill the box score people thought hes not that good. Hes as complete as a basketball player gets.

[StrongLurk]

Bubble hoops anything can happen because the hoops. Every scorer - shooter is an exaggerated version of themselves. No fans also makes it easier to shoot. Kawhi was even at 55% FG on 15 2 point attempts a game, which is better then any Durant playoff run. That was with Kawhi's game 7 struggles!

Murray is Curry, Mitchell is Wade, Anthony Davis is Dirk Nowitski. Every player is an exaggerated version of themselves because these hoops.

Next season should be harder if they leave the bubble and play in their regular arena hoops. However, still expect better then normal scoring- shooting if there's no fans again.

I actually agree with this sentiment.

I doubt the Clips blow a 3-1 lead under normal circumstances.

[StrongLurk]

The gamescore list

Jimmy Butler 2020 30.7

Shaquille O’Neal 2000 30.6

Kevin Durant 2017 30.3

Shaquille O’Neal 2002 30.1

Lebron James 2017 29.6

Micheal Jordan 1993 29.6

Micheal Jordan 1991 29.4

Lebron James 2018 28.3

[SATAN]

Butler was 20/7/6 player in the regular season.

These finals, he is 29/9/10 with 2.6 steals on 67.1 TS%. He has a 30.7 game score and 12.56 BPM...

To compare, 1991 MJ had 31/7/11 with 2.8 steals on 61.2 TS%. Had a 29.4 game score and a 16.76 BPM (insane).

Jimmy Butler is playing basically as good as 91 Jordan...I can't think of anything else except this bubble shit is completely different from the real NBA and is pretty ridiculous.

Donovan Mitchell had TWO 50-point games in the same series, Jamal Murray turned into Steph Curry, Nuggets had TWO 3-1 comebacks...

Even though I want Lebron to win another ring...I just can't help but feel the bubble is one giant asterisk. Players and teams are playing way different than they usually would.

So you're basically saying it's harder for LeBron to get a chip but it's an asterisk? Doesn't make much sense.

[StrongLurk]

So you're basically saying it's harder for LeBron to get a chip but it's an asterisk? Doesn't make much sense.

I mean...the Lakers lost home court advantage due to the bubble which is huge, and having NO CROWDS helps less experienced teams out.

So yeah, the Lakers actually do have things harder in a sense...but the whole bubble experiment is completely different than anything the NBA has ever done. If you don't want to consider it an asterisk, then it's at least going to be in it's own category as the "bubble ring".

[KD7]

People try so hard to discredit every LeBron championship

2012 - Lockout

2013 - Ray Allen

2016 - Draymond suspension

2020 - "bubble ring"

[Rysio]

It means any star level player can get hot at the right time and put up great numbers aka it means almost nothing cuz the sample size is too small to take anything out of it.

[LoneyROY7]

OP is obsessed with trying to discredit the bubble. :oldlol:

When in reality, Butler's overall playoff numbers (23/6/6) are just a tick above his regular season production.

[Axe]

What's amazing about butler is that he's playing great in his prime rn, helping the heat to their sixth trip in the finals. It was only four years ago in which he missed the postseason once but nevertheless, he's already played far more than his former teammate derrick rose at this point.

I believe people used to think that either the latter or paul george could take their respective teams to the finals compared to butler back then but now, he's got the last laugh over them. Now if the heat somehow prevails in this series, that will be even more apparent.

[LAL]

He's proving that big all around numbers in reg season can be pretty gimmicky and doesn't mean that much. Good stats are enough if you're winning and have less weaknesses than the bigger names. His ego is not too big where he'd pick numbers over ball movement, he lets others shine without looking for the assist. Showing it in the finals when he really has to with bam and dragic injured.

[AlternativeAcc.]

He looks better than Jordan to me. His moves are more crisp, his jumper more smooth. His playmaking 10x better than Jordan. Jordan relied on athleticism, butler is all skill.

Incredible talent. Would have been the best player in the 90s.

[And1AllDay]

the way i see it is players dont play better with bubble, they play worse with fans/pressure/noise

bran is the only guy that is steady and doesnt boost as much in the bubble because he is always playing at 'the bubble' numbers in crowds becos he is goat.

Make sense?

bran is unphased by big crowds/fans/noise he is the most clutch killer alive. All other players are effected by it but bran, thats why bubble #s jump so high for them

legoat is always in clutch bubble mode

[PeroAntic]

He's proving that big all around numbers in reg season can be pretty gimmicky and doesn't mean that much. Good stats are enough if you're winning and have less weaknesses than the bigger names. His ego is not too big where he'd pick numbers over ball movement, he lets others shine without looking for the assist. Showing it in the finals when he really has to with bam and dragic injured.

perfect response to op. HOF post. :cheers:

[Roundball_Rock]

Bubble inflation combined with a hot streak in the playoffs (he wasn't posting these numbers for the playoffs as a whole).

Also, his final line will take a bit hit from Game 6.