Why is Jimmy Butler so good in the playoffs?

How does Jimmy Butler continue to do this the last two years? He has gone from 22 points per game during the season to 29 points per game in the

playoffs

and I have never heard a

good

explanation of how he can improve this way. These four plays from the first quarter of the Eastern Conference Finals, where Jimmy torched the Celtics with 35 points in the

playoffs

, does anything jump out at you? How has he done it 46 times in the last two seasons after not having a single 40-point game in the regular season? season since 2017. Well, after watching it closely, I think I have an idea.

Jimmy Butler is quietly a basketball genius. He is subtle at first rather than breaking down defenses. He usually just takes what he's given on this first play. He wants Bam to set the screen. Because he knows Rob Williams will go down, he's a little hesitant to get Rob back to the basket, but that's why the step behind him is basically uncovered. Butler has been around League average from mid-range for a while, but this year he shot 47. Percent, so if defenses throw him coverage, he'll just walk around looking comfortable. He calls Williams again on that second play we saw and this is just to set him up.

He's going to stop at the free throw line, but. he gets a little bit closer so Rob goes to challenge the shot and that's all to set up the up and down and he commits a foul that was an attack call but Butler is an absolute master at using fakes in the paint attacking a large man who retreats. only to stop in an instant Turn and fake to make him lean a little and hand this is basically his version of a dream move where you stop and turn only to use the defender's recovery momentum against him and much of the driving game from Jimmy and The short midrange works because of these pivots and pumps figs here he is dancing with Derek White runs into traffic but pumps fakes at White with his feet for another soft foul but free throws are not key here the setup is because some Minutes later he is isolated against the target again driving to the left in an almost identical assist, but now the target is low to the ground on those fakes, so Jimmy uses his size to back away and this is what Butler counters based on how he feels like the defense is playing him this way. one is about manipulating the shot, blocking Mitchell Robinson, who slowly comes off the screen and looks at the rolling man twice to see what Robinson is committing to, then drives left only to stop and turn.

Robinson thinks it's safe to go back to his man, but Butler is too big. and it's a great look, a few minutes later he's attacking from pick and roll towards the defense and when he jumps to Pivot he just shoots and when you've seen that jump stop long enough you're not always waiting for the shot. The feeling in these small moments around the basket is almost telepathic as you enter the paint and pause the jump because it sends Drew Holiday into the air and then jumps to shoot on the previous play of that series that is attacking off the dribble goes to that jump. but he instantly picks one up and is immediately shooting here to get rid of the man of him and the help shot blocker who is not ready to jump impressively using all these jumps, feints and spins.

Butler is essentially disguising his throw here, so even when he catches with a cut like this, the fake and the throw look the same when it comes to cuts. Jimmy is a master at moving and finding little creases in the defense, usually when a team sets up an empty side pick and rolls, that's how they attack in all of this. open space, but Butler knows they want to bring in an extra defender to neutralize the action, so he instinctively floats to the open area on the baseline for a short jump. Watch him read Jason Tatum's eyes here so he can sneak out the backdoor undetected and he has a layup on this one but they just missed him on this Giannis antetokupo is paired with him in the backcourt so Jimmy realizes that He can outrun him down the court and that allows him to get into a foul line and improve his movement instincts. he even shows up on the offensive glass where he drives and shoots here he immediately realizes the shot is going up so he slides into that open space and tips it for an and one and this all works because Jimmy is so big he's six foot seven and 230 pounds, but it also works because he's a master at using that size and strength of ceiling defenders for easy catches at the rim and you'll also see him get a lot of cheap buckets in transition by sneaking in and jumping defenders for passes in the air like this right around the basket, fittingly, this innocuous technique set up perhaps the biggest shot of his career trailing by two with two seconds left, he threw this while falling to force overtime in the deciding game against Milwaukee and hey, if Michael Jordan's most famous highlight has a little push to soak the jimmies, but to me the genius of this play is that the pass comes late.

Jimmy recognizes this and stops to block his defender on one side of the rim because he follows the ball very well by reading the flight of the ball like a center fielder is a special

butler

who misses a pull-up and then instantly finds it outside the rim. to repeat it quickly. This skill is an adaptive mind mapping of the game that gives you an advantage over most players and really helps you. The Butler defense is one of the best at reading passing lanes and intercepting deliveries and it's because he can track the ball and his opponent's eyes like he possesses the Sharingan scanning Al Horford here checking the target and then sitting on the pass to the interception he's on. weak side in this one against the Knicks and the sneaky Jalen Brunson tries to manipulate him by pretending to get to the top but Butler just reads his soul and snatches it anyway and senses something was up and started moving towards the corner before Brunson would throw it.

Seriously, this guy is on another level, most players are thinking about taking the cutter away here, but Butler touches him and goes and grabs the pass out of the air, that's just ridiculous. Butler always seems to know where everyone is and what they want to do. Since he is under control and moves at his own speed, that also helps his play. In the first game against Boston, there were several plays where he drove to help understand exactly where the open man was setting up Caleb Martin's trifectas, as he has Rob Williams in a switch. Time tries a little fake to get off balance but can't get free, goes to Pivot Spin and knows Martin is open in the corner thanks to that help and on a great possession down the stretch, Butler again made his way into the painting, jumped stopped. and when he felt Corner's help instantly fed Caleb a huge dagger, the thing is, Butler isn't even a great passer.

I thought he missed this slide cut here, but he's

good

enough to be the playmaker he needs by patiently pressing and probing defenses until Committed too much to his scoring, we've seen him come out of the pick and roll and here he just jumps to draw coverage to him and open up Kevin Love's pop behind the line. Now he sees again that play from the first quarter that he waved away. from Bio because he doesn't want Jalen Brown near him and that also frees up Love to appear in space, so Jimmy gives Love a brief look.

Rob bites it and then the lane is clear to attack and score, so the next time down when Butler switches it up to Williams, he simply takes it to the other side of the court on an easy 17-footer. I'm not sure anyone haggles around corners more than Jimmy Butler like that to find something to work with in this case, he tells him. Martin to clear the far corner, but instead of having the blocker appear in this space like we lovingly saw before, Butler decides to just dribble there and catches his man off guard with a pull-up and that brings us to the outside shot Jimmy, who seems to magically improve in the playoffs, is a career 32 percent shooter for the year, but that jumps to 35 percent in the postseason.

It's a small enough sample size that some of it could be luck, but also what kind of 32 percent shooter repositions himself in big moments to achieve perfection. Dagger of three. I actually don't think it's much better than his regular season numbers, but some players shrink in big moments, while Butler lives for them losing two to the Box in game 4, he fought his way to this one, forward three and then on the next possession. I just ran down the court like a madman and threw down another backbreaker just to declare that this is my fish specialty, my specialty or as Kevin Harlan put it when Butler hit this long backbreaker to secure the first game in Boston, yes, Jimmy, the Damn Butler, what else can you say?

He doesn't have the quickest first step, a ton of fancy moves, and he's not even a great shooter, but he reads the game incredibly well, understands how to manipulate players in close proximity, and will take whatever defenses give him and whatever. make him happy. Perfect for tactical counters, in-game adjustments and strategic playoff flexibility. Plus, you know it's just Jimmy fucking Butler supporting this channel. Visit patreon.com directly with basketball in mind, there we also have our statistics board that is updated during the playoffs, where you can see Jimmy's incredible jump from the regular season to the postseason.

I hope you enjoyed this one and are enjoying the playoffs and, as always, wherever you look. I hope he's having a great day.