The Miami Heat secured a dominant 112-86 win over the Golden State Warriors in Jimmy Butler’s highly anticipated return to the Kaseya Center. The night featured a tribute video for Butler, which received a mix of cheers and boos from the home crowd. Before the game, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra offered his perspective on Butler’s impact with his new team and how he fits alongside Stephen Curry.
Butler has made an immediate impact with the Warriors, elevating the performance of his teammates, particularly Draymond Green and Curry. Before the Heat’s win, Spoelstra explained why Butler’s skill set meshes so well with the Warriors’ style of play, highlighting his contrast to Curry on the court.
“He fits stylistically because he’s kind of an opposite of Curry,” Spoelstra explained. “But his IQ and his competitive spirit fit with their philosophy. He always finds a way to be an add-on, a value one way or another”.
Butler has proven to be the missing piece the Warriors needed to reignite their championship hopes. His presence has provided Curry with a dependable second scoring option while offering Green a defensive partner who complements his intensity and versatility.
Jimmy Butler #10, Draymond Green #23 and Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors walk backcourt during a game against the Milwaukee Bucks. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Spoelstra reflects on emotional night with Butler
The Heat honored Butler with a pregame tribute video, which drew a mixed reaction from fans. While some applauded, others booed the former Heat star. Despite the crowd’s divided response, Spoelstra downplayed the emotional aspect of the night, suggesting the height of those emotions had passed months ago.
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“Obviously there’s a great storyline for everybody out there. We’re trying to focus on everything we’ve been dealing with for the last three weeks,” Spoelstra said. “I think all the emotions were in late December and early January, to be frank … I think we’re pretty far removed now from that kind of emotion”.
Steve Kerr on the Butler trade
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr acknowledged that acquiring Butler was an unexpected turn of events but emphasized how perfectly it worked out for the team. Kerr also praised the efforts of general manager Mike Dunleavy in orchestrating the move.
“Couldn’t have imagined it, you never know how the NBA works out,” Kerr said. “But weird things happen, every team has to handle their own business, and what I appreciated is the job that Mike Dunleavy has done in the last couple of years to prepare for a trade like this. The way things shook out obviously couldn’t have worked out any better for us to get Jimmy. He’s been amazing, everybody here knows what a great player he is, so we’re very lucky to have him”.
