Jimmy Butler - the best player left in Playoffs?

[Oscar9992]

Jimmy Butler - the best player left in Playoffs?

Better than Steph, Luka or Tatum? I would say he has been the best player in these Playoffs.

[timO]

What a finals VS Doncic

[Dutchball97]

Hard to say if he's really the best player going forward as I can't see into the future but so far he's been the best yeah. Luka is close though.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Jimmy, Luka, Curry and Tatum will all make their cases but he's definitely off to a good start

[Pachinko_]

Well, I guess that's why we have games, to answer those kinds of questions.
For now my answer is I don't know but if you twist my arm I pick Luka.

[TheLand13]

It’s way too early to say. Idk about you guys but I’m going to wait until game 3 for both series is over before I make any claims.

[DroseReturnChi]

tier 1 luka. butler tier 2. rest are day to day.

[Johnny Firpo]

Is there any historical precedent to what Butler is doing? A player who never has been a top 5 player in the league, not even close, has a run like this. Even his best up to date run in 2020 was NOWHERE near this. Has any top 10-top 10ish player ever did this, just playing like a league MVP for a whole playoff and win the ring? Nobody comes to mind, right?

[ThomYorke]

Steph and Luka I’d rank higher. Butler is on par with Tatum

[OkcSinceSGA]

Jimmy is a big time playoff performer. Usually has been. If Luka had a teammate on Bam’s level, they would have swept the Jazz and beaten Phoenix in 5. So no, he’s not on Luka’s level.

[Bum Adebayo]

He is not, but it's to be expected, he is being compared with players that are WAY more talented, if he is not that much behind then it is already a huge success.

[Mavrelous]

What a great PO in general, and an absolute masterclass by Butler.

[rate_]

Jimmy is a big time playoff performer. Usually has been. If Luka had a teammate on Bam’s level, they would have swept the Jazz and beaten Phoenix in 5. So no, he’s not on Luka’s level.

2022 PLAYOFFS
Jimmy: 11 G | 30/8/5/2 | .331 WS/48 | 13.8 BPM | 33.1 PER | +17.6 Net Rating | +13.0 Plus-Minus
Luka: 10 G | 32/10/7/2 | .206 WS/48 | 11.0 BPM | 30.1 PER | +12.0 Net Rating | +9.1 Plus-Minus

[Johnny Bball]

Jimmy, Luka, Curry and Tatum will all make their cases but he's definitely off to a good start

That had to hurt a little.

[IAMZOOTED2]

Jimmy might not be the best player left, but dat boi got da most heart, ya dig. Dude is a straight soldier an you wanna go to war with dudes like that. True... if you don't see eye-to-eye wit 'im it might could be problems, but that's who he is. Respect the technique so much.

[Dupp]

Luka clearly the best and has bee the best. Jimmy number 2 though.

[Johnny Firpo]

Jimmy is a big time playoff performer. Usually has been. If Luka had a teammate on Bam’s level, they would have swept the Jazz and beaten Phoenix in 5. So no, he’s not on Luka’s level.

2022 PLAYOFFS
Jimmy: 11 G | 30/8/5/2 | .331 WS/48 | 13.8 BPM | 33.1 PER | +17.6 Net Rating | +13.0 Plus-Minus
Luka: 10 G | 32/10/7/2 | .206 WS/48 | 11.0 BPM | 30.1 PER | +12.0 Net Rating | +9.1 Plus-Minus

Level of competition is huge here though, don't you think?

[Zvaart]

What a finals VS Doncic

jinxed it, thanks for that.

[bearadonisdna]

Jimmy is overrated if he is rated anywhere near Luka.
Luka is in running for best player in the world .
Jimmy is in running for best player on his team .

[Fencer reregistered]

One pundit's rankings. I think it's from before Game 1.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/ranking-20-best-players-in-nbas-conference-finals-round-luka-doncic-jayson-tatum-or-stephen-curry-no-1/

Tier 2: I hope he doesn't see that I left him out of Tier 1

4. Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat

Antetokounmpo was the best player in the postseason, but if you woke up tomorrow and found out he was actually an alien from the planet Blingor, you probably wouldn't be that surprised. Among humans, Butler has made a compelling case for himself. He's scoring only three fewer points per game in the postseason than Doncic despite a usage rate 10 percentage points lower. Miami doesn't like to play Luka-ball. They want to whip the ball around the court and cut their opponents to death. Butler personifies that in the regular season. He turns into a much more traditional, heliocentric star when the playoffs call for it. Lowry's absence has forced his hand the past few weeks. He's Miami's only consistent shot-creator and its best perimeter defender.

If we pretended that no basketball had ever been played before the 2022 playoffs? Butler makes the top tier. You could almost argue that his playoff track record is extensive enough for his inclusion even despite his less accomplished overall resume. As well as Butler is playing right now, he's never made First- or Second-Team All-NBA. We're comparing him to a three-time MVP, a probable First-Team All-NBA choice at his own position and a 6-7 point guard drawing comparisons to LeBron. Butler has just never been that sort of player over a sustained period of time.