Jimmy Butler was unable to put the Golden State Warriors on his back and preserve their championship hopes after Stephen Curry went down with a hamstring injury. It was a tall task so no one is entirely surprised a depleted unit could not outduel the Minnesota Timberwolves. Still, the way Butler played in Games 4 and 5—taking just 20 shots and posting a -47 over 76 minutes of play—raised some eyebrows and opened him up for criticism.
Former Miami Heat great Dwyane Wade shared his reaction to the surprising development on his latest podcast, Timeout with Dwyane Wade.
“I didn’t like…the way he just approached the game,” Wade said. “I know Jimmy is a pass-first guy. I know he’s about getting his teammates the ball and wanting to see them shine. But it’s a point where…this ain’t working. You gotta go. He wouldn’t look at the basket, and I’ve seen this before. I’ve seen it in a Heat jersey. And so, in a sense, when Pat [Riley] come out, Pat say, ‘We ain’t wanna give you the extension,’ it’s not always because of injuries. Sometimes it’s, ‘I need to see what you gonna do in every moment, not just in one moment.’
The merits of giving Butler a lucrative long-term extension are certainly up for debate. But it seemed like he was generally lauded for rising to the occasion and attacking aggressively when the moment was biggest. Wade can obviously remember some instances where that wasn't the case even if they've been obscured by the Playoff Jimmy narrative.
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