Jimmy Butler left the Philadelphia 76ers to join the Miami Heat back in June after a Sixers career that lasted only 55 games, but there is still a lot of talk about why Butler left Philadelphia in the first place. Why leave a Sixers team laced with so much talent and has a championship plan in place?
Butler gave a vague reason for leaving the Sixers earlier in the season and there is some thought out there in the world that he left because he did not get along with Ben Simmons or coach Brett Brown. That has always been the assumption, but neither side really talks about what happened and why Butler really did leave.
At All-Star media day in Chicago on Saturday, Simmons gave his thoughts on Butler’s All-Star play for Miami.
“He’s been playing well,” he told reporters in Chicago. “He’s being Jimmy. He’s a great player. He’s a great facilitator. He can handle the ball and get guys in the right spots. So he’s doing well.”
Butler is averaging 20.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 6.1 assists as he is leading the Heat to a surprising 4 seed spot heading into the All-Star break. Nobody expected the Heat to be playing this well this quickly and Butler deserves a lot of credit.
Which then leads to the next point Simmons gave his thoughts on.
It’s only the All-Star break and there is a lot of basketball still to be played, but it’s never too early to begin thinking about the playoffs. Especially for a Sixers team that has championship aspirations.
Heading into the break, the Sixers are the 5 seed which would match them up with Butler and the Heat in Round 1 of the playoffs. The Heat took three of the four matchups in the regular season including both games in Miami.
“The Heat? I mean, it’s kind of tough during [the] regular season,” he said. “The playoffs are so much different. It’s more physical, and it’s a different style of play. I’m looking forward to getting to the playoffs, but we’ve got a while for that.”
Simmons does have a point. There have been plenty of instances where a team would dominate a regular-season series but then lose in the playoffs. So Philadelphia could easily dispatch them in the playoffs if they were to match up.
In the meantime, the Sixers still need to figure out how they are going to make this roster work and find a groove heading into the postseason. They will worry about the Heat when the time comes. [lawrence-related id=25880,25871,25847]