Jimmy Butler may miss the Miami Heat's first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, but he's still thinking about it.
After his team won Game 2 111-101 on Wednesday, Butler trolled his opponents on Instagram.
"Feeling cute, might delete later," he commented under a Jaylen Brown quotation. "Sikeeeee I ain't deleting s---."
Jaylen Brown said "don't let us get one" in last year's playoffs. The Celtics All-Star said it with Boston trailing Butler and the Heat 0-3 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Miami reached the NBA Finals by winning Game 7 in Boston after the Celtics won three straight.
Butler damaged his right MCL in the Heat's Play-In Tournament loss to the 76ers last week.
Without him, the Heat lost Game 1 in Boston 114-94, but they rebounded with a strong shooting performance on Wednesday. Heat made 23-for-43 3-pointers, a franchise record in a postseason game.
Butler is keeping his teammates informed even though he is not playing.
Tyler Herro, who led the Heat with 24 points and 14 assists in Game 2, said Butler contacted him to build team confidence in his postgame interview.
"Just before the series, JB texted me to take the team and lead these guys," he stated. Make every play right. It's not just about scoring in the playoffs; you need the correct play.
Our guys—Caleb Martin, Nikola, everyone—arrived tonight. Jaime... everyone played. We lost Game 1 badly and everyone responded. No more can be asked of a set of guys."
The Heat will host the next two first-round games to maintain their momentum. Game 3 is Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.
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