<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-why-jimmy-butler-draymond-green-match-made-in-heaven');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Jimmy Butler is Warriors, Draymond Green’s ‘match made in heaven’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Draymond-Green-with-Jimmy-Butler-1.jpg"><figcaption>David Gonzales-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Jimmy Butler is Warriors, Draymond Green’s ‘match made in heaven’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-03T13:36:08-07:00">April 3rd, 1:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-03T13:36:08-07:00">April 3rd, 1:36pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>No team needed more help at the NBA trade deadline than the Golden State Warriors. With Stephen Curry and Draymond Green only able to do so much, plus the Dubs sinking in the standings, Mike Dunleavy Jr. and this front office pulled off a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/jimmy-butler-money-mouth-warriors-contend-championship">huge trade to bring in Jimmy Butler</a>.</p><p>If it wasn’t for Butler, the Warriors may not be positioned to make the playoffs. Since his arrival and his first appearance, Golden State has posted a 19-5 record. This team is 18-2 when Curry and Butler are on the court together.</p><p>After defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 134-125 behind <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-stephen-curry-reacts-passing-jerry-west-52-point-night">Steph’s 52-point night</a> and gaining control of the 5-seed in the Western Conference, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/lakers-warriors-stakes-showdown-western-conference-playoff-picture">Warriors now turn their attention to the Los Angeles Lakers</a> on Thursday to keep their hopes for a top-four spot in the standings alive.</p><p>Before this matchup, Green spoke with ESPN’s Malika Andrews <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1907888198573015068" rel="noopener">about Butler’s impact</a> and how he has once more created championship hope for the Warriors.</p><p>“I can’t necessarily lie to you and say I saw 18-2, but what I saw was who Jimmy Butler is. We already know who Steph Curry is and what he can do and how he can carry. But now you add a force like Jimmy, who is a force on both sides of the ball, when you look at that, I took a step back and was like, ‘Alright, what are the challenges here?'” Green told Andrews on Thursday. “He wants to win, and I know we want to win.</p><p>“So this is a match made in heaven.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"We already know who Steph Curry is… But now you add a force like Jimmy [Butler]… He wants to win, and I know we want to win. So this is a match made in heaven."</p><p>Draymond Green on the Warriors winning the championship with Jimmy 👀</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNNBA</a>)<a href="https://t.co/KYJsOizRai">pic.twitter.com/KYJsOizRai</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1907888198573015068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Warriors have been a completely different team since Butler joined the organization, and he has helped bring out the best in both Curry and Green. Not only has Curry’s efficiency and scoring been the best it has been all season, but Green suddenly finds himself in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year with his energy spiking.</p><p>Sometimes, all it takes is one change for a franchise to go from being out of the playoffs to becoming a legitimate championship threat. That change for the Warriors was acquiring Butler, and that is why Green is still believing that Golden State can make it to the NBA Finals for a chance to win a fifth title since 2015.</p><p>“I think this team has the ability to match different lineups,” Draymond Green stated. “When you look at all championship teams, they have abilities that if a team goes big, they can match it. If a team goes small, they can match that. They need a three-point shooting lineup? They can do that. They need an all-defensive lineup? They can go to that lineup. I just think the versatility of this roster with adding Jimmy Butler, and what it does against other matchups, it allows us to match up against anyone.</p><p>“That’s what you need to win a championship.”</p><p>Butler and the Warriors will look to keep their positive momentum on Thursday night against LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the Lakers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Jimmy Butler is Warriors, Draymond Green’s ‘match made in heaven’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-bam-adebayos-gets-honest-after-not-speaking-with-jimmy-butler-in-return-game');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bam Adebayo gets honest after not speaking with Jimmy Butler in Heat return game');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Heat-news-Bam-Adebayos-gets-honest-after-not-speaking-with-Jimmy-Butler-in-return-game.jpg"></figure><h1>Bam Adebayo gets honest after not speaking with Jimmy Butler in Heat return game</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-28T10:59:10-07:00">March 28th, 10:59am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-29T14:37:12-07:00">March 29th, 2:37pm</time><address><a>Zachary Weinberger</a>Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school's athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Miami Heat</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-bam-adebayo-reveals-reason-behind-resurgence-amid-3-game-win-streak">Miami Heat have won three straight games</a> after beating the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night, it has been an emotional past few weeks dealing with coming off a 10-game skid and even a recent return. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-erik-spoelstra-scoffs-at-extra-motivation-for-jimmy-butler-return-game">Heat beat Jimmy Butler</a> and the Golden State Warriors last Tuesday in what was an interesting return on and off the court dealing with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.</p><p>Looking at Adebayo specifically with Butler, there were fans wondering how the two would interact with one another besides the actual game. However, there was no sign of the two talking, even when both were warming up on opposite ends of the court with around two hours before tipoff.</p><p>Even before the game, there were no signs of communication, and after the game was over, Butler went straight to the locker room. When Adebayo was asked about the lack of a reunion, Adebayo said that he was <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article302985059.html" rel="noopener">“not shocked”</a> and that he does not “take it personal” according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.</p><p>“I’m not shocked. It is what it is,” Adebayo said. “It’s a business at the end of the day. And he has a Golden State Warriors jersey on. We have a Heat jersey on. I don’t take it personal. We’re out there to do our job anyways. So if you don’t want to speak, we don’t speak, and that’s fine. We’re going to get out here, we’re going to compete, win or lose the game, and we move on.”</p><h2><b>Bam Adebayo on the ‘sad’ breakup between the Heat and Jimmy Butler</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bam-Adebayo-and-Jimmy-Butler-on-March-25-2025.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-how-bam-adebayo-stole-jimmy-butlers-spotlight-with-revenge-game-domination">Adebayo led the Heat to a big win against Butler</a> and the Warriors, spoiling the former Miami star’s return to the city, but people were still dumbfounded by the lack of niceties. Butler interacted with Kevin Love, Terry Rozier, and even Alec Burks but not Adebayo and especially Herro, who said to ClutchPoints that <a href="https://x.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904733542786998437" rel="noopener">he didn’t speak</a> to Butler before or after the game.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Asked Tyler Herro if he had a conversation with Jimmy Butler before or after the game to reflect on the last five and a half years together in Miami.</p><p>“No…” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HeatNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HeatNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/772JvnSPRv">pic.twitter.com/772JvnSPRv</a></p><p>— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904733542786998437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>There is no doubt some shock by the fans since the three have been the leaders of the Heat, going to two NBA Finals together in the last 5½ years. Still, Adebayo would say it was “sad” to see the messy breakup between the organization and Butler in the public and reported transgressions made, whether it be the multiple suspensions or the alleged lack of effort on the floor.</p><p>“I’m sad to see it go that far,” Adebayo said. “Guys are going to make decisions off of whether they want to take care of themselves, and I’m all for that. I’ll never be mad at a guy who wants to go get his money.</p><p>“But to me, it ended as a bad sting between the organization and him as a whole. You got him and Pat going at it and stuff like that. I just feel like it ended badly. At this point, we just got to move on.”</p><h2><b>Heat’s Bam Adebayo on having the ‘utmost respect’ for Jimmy Butler </b></h2><p>In the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-why-andrew-wiggins-fresh-miami-start-doesnt-erase-steve-kerr-warriors-history">Heat’s win over the Warriors</a>, besides Adebayo putting on an offensive showcase, he set the tone for the rest of the team in how he played defense, especially against Butler.</p><p>While he and others would downplay Butler’s return, there was a different sense of energy on Tuesday as it started with Adebayo’s defense on his former teammate where he is not being tasked with guarding bigger wing players with Kel’el Ware starting.</p><p>Still, Adebayo said after that he has the <a href="https://x.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904746915478057344" rel="noopener">“utmost respect”</a> for Butler in playing against him as he’s someone who has “been through the trenches” with the team.</p><p>“I think it’s a part of my versatility,” Adebayo said. “I feel like that just adds value to me. Obviously, been doing quite some time with switching, but to start on primary wings is different. But like I said, man, the guy’s been through the trenches with us, so it’s the utmost respect to him. I’m just glad we got the win.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bam Adebayo on guarding bigger wings when Kel’el Ware is starting and guarding Jimmy Butler tonight.</p><p>“The guy’s been through the trenches with us, so it’s the utmost respect to him, I’m just glad we got the win…” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HeatNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HeatNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/oeelFfQBjc">pic.twitter.com/oeelFfQBjc</a></p><p>— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904746915478057344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>For head coach Erik Spoelstra, he told Clutchpoints that Adebayo guarding <a href="https://x.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904724041010757866" rel="noopener">“the best big wing”</a> is a “new development.”</p><p>“That’s not even something that we just did for this game,” Spoelstra said. “Like, look at the last six weeks. We’re starting Kel’el; he goes to center; Bam guards whoever the best big wing is. So he’s taken on this challenge. It’s a new development and chapter in his defensive prowess.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Asked Spo about Bam Adebayo’s performance, starting on Jimmy Butler.</p><p>“That’s not even something we did just for this game. We start Kel’el, Bam guards whoever the best big wing is, so he’s taken on this challenge…it’s the commitment to do a lot of tough things…<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HeatNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HeatNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/oCpnT9Lj4p">pic.twitter.com/oCpnT9Lj4p</a></p><p>— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904724041010757866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>At any rate, Miami is 32-41, which puts them 10th in the Eastern Conference as they go on the road to take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bam Adebayo gets honest after not speaking with Jimmy Butler in Heat return game

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/jimmy-butler-money-mouth-warriors-contend-championship');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jimmy Butler needs to put money where his mouth is for Warriors to contend for championship');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Jimmy-Butler-needs-to-put-money-where-his-mouth-is-for-Warriors-to-contend-for-championship.jpg"></figure><h1>Jimmy Butler needs to put money where his mouth is for Warriors to contend for championship</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-27T05:07:21-07:00">March 27th, 5:07am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-27T05:07:21-07:00">March 27th, 5:07am</time><address><a>Jack Winter</a>Jack Winter is a veteran NBA writer and editor based on the West Coast. He currently lives in Oakland, covering the Golden State Warriors.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jimmy Butler caught at the top of the floor with eight seconds left on the shot clock, his defender lunging toward halfcourt after shooting the gap for a steal. Only Tyler Herro was between Butler and the rim as he quickly turned on his pivot foot, seemingly primed to attack downhill.</p><p>Instead of going right at the chest of his former team’s most exploitable defender, though, Butler waited for Gary Payton II to set a ball screen, losing the initial advantage yielded by Haywood Highsmith’s gamble. The result of that passivity was just as frustrating for Golden State Warriors fans as it’s become predictable since the future Hall-of-Famer’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-jimmy-butler-heat-trade">arrival from the Miami Heat</a> at the trade deadline.</p><p>The ball immediately found its way back to Butler after Payton, shocker, opted against launching an above-break triple. Miami had recovered by then, relegating Butler to create with the halfcourt defense set and shot clock ticking below four seconds—the type of distress players of his caliber routinely overcame on the path to undisputed stardom.</p><p>Butler is a different kind of a star. He barely looked to score upon putting his head down and drawing a double-team, even turning away from the basket to find the open man with just one second left for the Warriors to draw iron. The ensuing shot clock violation was the Dubs’ third of a rough first half, one in which they managed just 40 points on 35% shooting.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>It’s not exactly surprising that Golden State once again struggled to score without Stephen Curry. The slumping Heat were desperate for a win on Tuesday with both the postseason looming and Butler back in South Beach for the first time since his acrimonious exit, too.</p><p>Still, any expectation that Butler might flip the switch to ‘Playoff Jimmy’ early under those special circumstances was gone well before he settled for a shot clock violation just moments before intermission. His default mode of offensive table-setter was evident from the opening tip at Kaseya Center, just like it’s been almost every time he’s suited up in Warriors blue and gold so far.</p><p>Butler finished with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal on 5-of-12 shooting in Golden State’s blowout <a href="https://www.nba.com/game/gsw-vs-mia-0022401047/box-score#box-score" rel="noopener">112-86</a> loss to Miami. One solitary free throw attempt best conveyed his docile offensive approach, circumstances of the season schedule be damned. Entering Friday’s road matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans, the 41-31 Warriors are virtually tied with the LA Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Each of the 11 remaining games in the regular season is pivotal to their hopes of avoiding the play-in tournament, as was Tuesday’s.</p><p>Curry, thankfully, is primed to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/is-stephen-curry-playing-tonight-warriors-heat-injury-report">return to the lineup for Golden State</a> as soon as Friday night, mitigating the sweeping effects of his new co-star’s preference to create shots for his teammates as opposed to himself. But the postseason is coming fast, and doubt about Butler’s time-honored ability to morph into offensive alpha dog when it matters most is understandably growing.</p><h2><b>Can Jimmy Butler really flip playoff switch with Warriors?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Jimmy-Butler-on-March-20-2025.jpg"><figcaption>John Hefti-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Don’t count Butler among a burgeoning group of skeptics regarding his late-career scoring chops. He seems fully intent on leveling up with the Warriors in that regard come playoff time just like he did with the Heat, twice leading Erik Spoelstra’s team to the NBA Finals.</p><p>“I’m not just a scorer. I could score whenever I want to. I could shoot the toughest of toughest shots if I wanted to and nobody’s ever gonna say anything,” Butler <a href="https://x.com/anthonyVslater/status/1901137341617762372" rel="noopener">told reporters</a> following Golden State’s win over the shorthanded New York Knicks on March 15th. “But I wanna get everybody involved, I wanna get guys in their spots. When it’s my time [to score], you’ll know that it’s my time. But until then, I’m going to pass the ball to the open man, get my guys some jumpers, get them out in transition and we gonna keep winning.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jimmy Butler on his scoring: “When it’s my time, you’ll know it’s my time. Until then, I’m going to pass the ball to the open man, get my guys some jumpers, get them out in transition and we gonna keep winning.” <a href="https://t.co/sbue8m2uIP">pic.twitter.com/sbue8m2uIP</a></p><p>— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) <a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1901137341617762372?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>A former junior college transfer who cut his baby teeth in the league as a role player, Butler has defied the odds at pretty much every stage of his basketball journey. Even so, his next challenge figures to be one of the 35-year-old’s toughest. It’s been almost two years since Butler dusted off his superhero cape to will an underdog Miami team to the Eastern Conference crown. He wasn’t close to the same historic force against the Denver Nuggets with a championship on the line, though, facing a big, athletic defense that loaded up to stop him while dealing with a balky right ankle.</p><p>The passage of time alone is reason enough to believe Butler won’t reach his most vaulted postseason heights with Golden State. A nagging right knee injury also limited the six-time All-Star athletically throughout last season, ultimately sidelining him for the playoffs. Coupled with ugly advanced stats that align with an often dispiriting eye test, those realities make it almost as likely that Butler will disappoint in the postseason as rediscover his inner superstar.</p><p>Nothing distills concerns about Butler’s self-creation ability better than his clear limitations as a penetrator. Over 50 players league-wide are averaging at least 10 drives per game, dating back to his debut with the Dubs on February 7th. Butler, with an impressive 13.6 drives per game, is <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/drives?DateFrom=02/07/2025&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=DRIVES" rel="noopener">passing on 52.9%</a> of his forays to the paint, more often than any other high-usage penetrator in the NBA, per NBA.com/stats.</p><p>How many times has Butler driven into efficient scoring position with the Warriors, only to take an extra dribble while seeking out the pass? Possessions like this have been closer to the norm than the exception.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p> </p><p>You don’t become an all-time great playoff performer absent unwavering confidence. Maybe Butler really does believe his increased emphasis on playmaking is born solely from his desire to set up teammates for easy looks. On the other hand, shooting Butler’s ugly mark of <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/drives?DateFrom=02/07/2025&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=DRIVES" rel="noopener">39.7% on drives</a> on drives with Golden State—second-worst in the league among frequent penetrators behind LaMelo Ball, per NBA.com/stats—would up any player’s proclivity to pass after collapsing the defense, right?</p><p>Butler remains a devastating battering ram on the move, drawing fouls at essentially the same at Giannis Antetokounmpo. Some of the Warriors’ most reliable offense over the last six weeks, with or without Curry, has come from him spraying the ball to the perimeter off the drive, ensuring scrambling defenses remain in the rotation. The high-low chemistry he swiftly established with Draymond Green will remain a staple of Golden State’s attack in the postseason no matter how he adjusts his game otherwise. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/jimmy-butler-pushing-steph-curry-warriors-new-heights">Butler’s impact on the Dubs</a>, obviously, has been palpable and all-encompassing.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-draymond-green-doubles-down-championship-guarantee">Warriors are dreaming bigger</a> than a top-six seed or simply advancing past the first round of the playoffs after finally getting a second star to pair with Curry, though. Unless he suddenly finds the blend of burst, power, and explosiveness that’s been notably missing since his last time playing the postseason hero in 2023, Butler’s current best as a scorer and penetrator likely won’t be enough to lift Golden State to true title contention.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jimmy Butler needs to put money where his mouth is for Warriors to contend for championship

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-how-bam-adebayo-stole-jimmy-butlers-spotlight-with-revenge-game-domination');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Heat’s Bam Adebayo stole Jimmy Butler’s spotlight with revenge game domination');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/How-Bam-Adebayo-stole-Jimmy-Butlers-spotlight-with-revenge-game-domination.jpg"></figure><h1>How Heat’s Bam Adebayo stole Jimmy Butler’s spotlight with revenge game domination</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-26T10:53:50-07:00">March 26th, 10:53am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-26T16:55:45-07:00">March 26th, 4:55pm</time><address><a>Zachary Weinberger</a>Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school's athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Miami Heat</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>MIAMI – While the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-erik-spoelstra-scoffs-at-extra-motivation-for-jimmy-butler-return-game">Miami Heat beat the Golden State Warriors</a> on Tuesday night, 112-86, one player would have their own revenge game and it wasn’t Jimmy Butler. With <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-tyler-herro-bam-adebayo-weigh-in-on-energy-in-jimmy-butlers-return">Heat stars Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro facing Butler</a> in his return, both had productive performances with more so the team’s captain having a standout showcase.</p><h2><b>Bam Adebayo’s energy was “contagious” for the Heat against Jimmy Butler</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bam-Adebayo-on-March-25-2025.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>If there was one thing for certain right from the jump, Adebayo was a man on a mission as he set the tone for the rest of the game on both sides of the ball. He would start the game defending Butler and barely gave him any good look at the basket as the former Miami star had two points in the first half and 11 in the whole game.</p><p>Adebayo was showing his defensive prowess, providing a different energy that ended up becoming a domino effect for the rest of the team. With Adebayo starting on Butler defensively could be seen as intentional, Spoelstra would say to ClutchPoints that it has been the norm for the big man to guard the opposing team’s best wing player, but still acknowledged the <a href="https://x.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904724041010757866" rel="noopener">“inspiring plays”</a> he made that were “contagious.”</p><p>“That’s not even something that we just did for this game,” Spoelstra said. “Like, look at the last six weeks. We’re starting Kel’el, he goes to center, Bam guards whoever the best big wing is. So he’s, he’s taken on this challenge. It’s a new development and chapter in his defensive prowess.</p><p>“But it’s the commitment to do a lot of tough things,” Spoelstra continued. “He made some inspiring plays right out of the gate, and that just kind of like, energized everybody else and inspired the next guy to make a play. Then Kel’el started making plays. Then you bring in, you know, Davion [Mitchell] and H [Haywood Highsmith] and they’re flying around playing heart attack. It becomes contagious.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Asked Spo about Bam Adebayo’s performance, starting with Jimmy Butler.</p><p>“That’s not even something we did just for this game. We start Kel’el, Bam guards whoever the best big wing is, so he’s taken on this challenge…it’s the commitment to do a lot of tough things…<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HeatNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HeatNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/oCpnT9Lj4p">pic.twitter.com/oCpnT9Lj4p</a></p><p>— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904724041010757866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Heat’s Bam Adebayo on the “outside emotion” of Jimmy Butler’s return</b></h2><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/exclusive-bam-adebayo-embracing-love-hate-relationship-with-heat-captain-title">As the Heat’s captain</a>, Adebayo had a big task coming into this game as it was far beyond facing a former teammate in Butler. It’s more so channeling the emotions of not only himself but of the rest of the team due to the highly-anticipated matchup against the Warriors.</p><p>Adebayo had the exact performance any payer would want out of a leader as he finished with 27 points on nine for 18 shooting from the field to go along with eight rebounds. He would even say after the game that there was<a href="https://x.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904737596778909914" rel="noopener"> “a lot of outside emotion”</a> in regards to the game, though made sure to acknowledge that it wasn’t coming from the locker room.</p><p>“Yeah, you know. There was a lot of outside emotion around this game,” Adebayo said. “I’m not going to say for us, because, you know, like I said before, we’re scrapping for wins, but it was a lot of outside emotion around it, and to go out there and have that type of performance. It’s just, you give guys a vision, you give guys belief. You know you want guys to play to a higher level, and they did tonight.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bam Adebayo was asked if he was leading by example with the energy.</p><p>“There was a lot of outside emotion about this game, I’m not going to say for us because we’re scrapping for wins…to go out there and have that type of performance, it gives guys a vision…” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HeatNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HeatNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/XIk0fFfHRp">pic.twitter.com/XIk0fFfHRp</a></p><p>— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904737596778909914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Heat’s Bam Adebayo on guarding Jimmy Butler primarily </b></h2><p>The<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-jimmy-butler-gets-brutally-honest-about-heats-tribute-video"> Heat would end up making a tribute video to Butler</a>, commemorating the last five and a half years filled with iconic moments such as leading the team to two NBA Finals appearances. Still, there was no doubt that the breakup between the two parties was a messy one, but it doesn’t mean there isn’t admiration on both sides.</p><p>While people will focus on Butler going straight to the locker room when the game ended or Tyler Herro after the game saying to ClutchPoints that he didn’t have a conversation with him before or after the outing, Adebayo would touch on their relationship. Besides speaking on being able to guard wing players, he said that Butler has <a href="https://x.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904746915478057344" rel="noopener">“been through the trenches with us”</a> and that “it’s the utmost respect to him.”</p><p>“I think it’s a part of my versatility,” Adebayo said. “I feel like that just adds value to me. Obviously, been doing quite some time with switching, but to start on primary wings is different. But like I said man, the guy’s been through the trenches with us, so it’s the utmost respect to him. I’m just glad we got the win.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bam Adebayo on guarding bigger wings when Kel’el Ware is starting and guarding Jimmy Butler tonight.</p><p>“The guy’s been through the trenches with us, so it’s the utmost respect to him, I’m just glad we got the win…” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HeatNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HeatNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/oeelFfQBjc">pic.twitter.com/oeelFfQBjc</a></p><p>— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904746915478057344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>While the Butler return was the focus, it was also a reunion for Andrew Wiggins who faced his former team as Adebayo’s <a href="https://x.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904735504844624381" rel="noopener">performance was worth noting.</a></p><p>“For sure, going out there, he set the tone early, with his physicality on both sides of the floor,” Wiggins said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Andrew Wiggins spoke on Bam Adebayo setting the tone early. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HeatNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HeatNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/90DmdZE5q1">pic.twitter.com/90DmdZE5q1</a></p><p>— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904735504844624381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>At any rate, Miami is now 31-41 which puts them 10th in the Eastern Conference as the team looks for three straight wins on Thursday against the Atlanta Hawks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Heat’s Bam Adebayo stole Jimmy Butler’s spotlight with revenge game domination

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-erik-spoelstra-scoffs-at-extra-motivation-for-jimmy-butler-return-game');   ga('set', 'title', 'Heat’s Erik Spoelstra scoffs at ‘extra motivation’ for Jimmy Butler return game');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Erik-Spoelstra-scoffs-at-extra-motivation-for-Jimmy-Butler-return-game.jpg"></figure><h1>Heat’s Erik Spoelstra scoffs at ‘extra motivation’ for Jimmy Butler return game</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-26T08:58:53-07:00">March 26th, 8:58am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-26T16:54:14-07:00">March 26th, 4:54pm</time><address><a>Zachary Weinberger</a>Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school's athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Miami Heat</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>MIAMI – As the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-tyler-herro-bam-adebayo-weigh-in-on-energy-in-jimmy-butlers-return">Miami Heat spoiled the return of Jimmy Butler</a> in beating the Golden State Warriors, 112-86, on Tuesday night, there was a clear change of energy inside the Kaseya Center that one could point to the presence of the former Miami star. However, while <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-erik-spoelstras-honest-reflection-on-jimmy-butlers-miami-career">Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra would reflect fondly</a> on the time with Butler, he would downplay his return as adding more energy to the contest.</p><p>Butler would finish the game with 11 points on shooting five of 12 from the field to go along with six rebounds, two assists, and a steal in what was a frustrating performance against his old team. The Warriors would be without star Stephen Curry in the game due to a pelvic contusion.</p><h2><b>Erik Spoelstra on the Heat’s energy against Jimmy Butler, Warriors</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Jimmy-Butler-on-March-25-2025.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-what-miami-wont-take-for-granted-after-snapping-10-game-skid">Heat snapped a 10-game skid</a> on Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets, it gave the team a bit of momentum heading into the highly-anticipated game against Golden State with the obvious storyline of Buter coming back to Miami. While Spoelstra would acknowledge the fans bringing energy, he would say there was not <a href="https://x.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904723208185455056/video/1" rel="noopener">“any kind of extra motivational speech”</a> before the outing because of Butler.</p><p>“I mean, the energy in the building was great,” Spoelstra said. “You know, if you’re a competitor, you love this kind of environment. We didn’t do any kind of extra motivational speech leading up to this. It was more about us just staying the course with our process. I didn’t go person to person to ask him, we want to kind of just keep it steady right now. But defensively that’s probably one of our more consistent efforts all the way through. But I’ll tell you what, you take out the New York, Memphis games, we’ve been defending for six weeks pretty hard.”</p><p>“That’s been something our team has rallied around, defending and doing tough things, we’re just continuing to get better defensively and we kind of had it all together,” Spoelstra continued. “You know, tonight that’s a big difference when Curry is not playing. There’s no question about that. He creates an offense unto himself, a bunch of overreactions, and all that stuff. But I’m just talking about the efforts. And look, we got guys out. Nobody cares. Nobody cares, this league is unforgiving. So it was good to see that kind of inspiring efforts from multiple guys throughout the course of the game.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Erik Spoelstra on if there was something extra to this game in terms of the team’s energy. Would say it’s more about sticking to the process.</p><p>“The energy in the building was great…we didn’t do any extra motivational speech leading up into this…” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HeatNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HeatNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/xH0ysecXjq">pic.twitter.com/xH0ysecXjq</a></p><p>— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904723208185455056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Heat wasn’t emotional, but rather “laser-focused” per Erik Spoelstra</b></h2><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-jimmy-butler-gets-brutally-honest-about-heats-tribute-video">Heat would make a tribute video for Butler</a> which the star <a href="https://x.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904678022701064331/video/1" rel="noopener">showed his gratitude for right after</a> it ended as it showed his reaction on the big screen. He would say it was “nice,” though there is not <a href="https://x.com/KNBR/status/1904730199515603117" rel="noopener">“a lot of emotion”</a> on his part in regards to coming into the game per KNBR.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jimmy Butler tribute video from the Heat as he shows his gratitude. Mix of cheers and boos. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HeatNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HeatNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/Pkh1P1iFua">pic.twitter.com/Pkh1P1iFua</a></p><p>— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904678022701064331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“The (tribute) video was nice. I won’t say that there’s a lot of emotion. I went into this thing level-headed and wanted to win the game but it didn’t go the way that we planned.”</p><p>Jimmy Butler on his return to Miami <a href="https://t.co/0njlckFLqD">pic.twitter.com/0njlckFLqD</a></p><p>— KNBR (@KNBR) <a href="https://twitter.com/KNBR/status/1904730199515603117?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><br>Miami would end up shooting lights out on Tuesday, making 55.8 percent from the field and an outstanding 68 percent from three-point range which is the highest by any team in the NBA this season. It’s also the highest in franchise history in which the team has shot at least 25 threes.</p></figure><p>Defensively, the Heat were a force to be reckoned with, holding Butler and Golden State to 39.8 percent from the field and 23.7 percent from deep. When Spoelstra was asked about the feelings going into the game and channeling that into fuel for a great performance, he credited that to the 10-game skid rather than Butler’s return, saying that rather than being “emotional,” Miami was <a href="https://x.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904729509959495874/video/1" rel="noopener">“laser-focused.”</a></p><p>“I think we’ve been developing this for six weeks,” Spoelstra said. “If you really like stay the course on your process, and you get more consistent to it, you don’t want to become too emotional. I did not feel like we were too hyped up at all. It was more laser-focused on the competition and competing at a high level and playing well. That’s the fine line you always need to try to find in team sports. You got to toe the line of, like, intense competition. You don’t want to, like, be totally out of control, and you definitely don’t want to be, like, flat-lined where you’re not passionate. I thought we had a really good inspiring energy and balance tonight.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Erik Spoelstra on if the emotions going into this game could’ve been turned into an advantage.</p><p>“I think we’ve been developing this for six weeks…I didn’t feel we were too hyped up at all, it was more laser-focused on the competition…” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HeatNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HeatNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/drXFv8ZIr4">pic.twitter.com/drXFv8ZIr4</a></p><p>— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1904729509959495874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Heat was “ready” for Jimmy Butler, Warriors per Steve Kerr</b></h2><p>There is no doubt that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-jimmy-butler-solution-facing-boos-miami-return">Heat fanbase brought it to Butler</a> as every time he held the ball during the game, there would be a shower of boos. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was asked about the environment of the city and how the team played and also didn’t make too much of it, saying the main part was that Spoelstra <a href="https://x.com/anthonyVslater/status/1904719952902311986" rel="noopener">“had them ready”</a> per Anthony Slater.</p><p>“You know, Miami,” Kerr said, “it’s a great place to live. So people don’t ever seem too amped up around here. They’re living a good life. So it really wasn’t that rabid of an environment. It was typical Miami. I think the main part of Jimmy’s return is that the Heat was ready and (Spoelstra) had them ready.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Steve Kerr on the Jimmy Butler return environment: “Miami is a great place to live. People don’t ever seem too amped up around here. So it really wasn’t that rabid an environment. Typical Miami. The main part of Jimmy’s return is that the Heat were ready.” <a href="https://t.co/BbeWUim60w">pic.twitter.com/BbeWUim60w</a></p><p>— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) <a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1904719952902311986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>At any rate, Miami is now 31-41 which puts them 10th in the Eastern Conference as they look for three straight wins on Thursday night when the team takes on the Atlanta Hawks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
17.5	6.1	6.2	0.3	1.4

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
17.5	6.1	6.2	0.3	1.4

Jimmy Butler

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