Skip Bayless compares Jimmy Butler to Michael Jordan following his 56-point performance
Skip Bayless compared Jimmy Butler to Michael Jordan after his 56-point performance against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
The Miami Heat registered their third win of the series against the Bucks in Game 4, riding on Butler’s expansive performance. Jimmy Butler had 56 points with an almost 68% of overall shooting efficiency and converted 15 of his 18 free throws.
The Milwaukee Bucks, who have the best defensive record in the league this season, found themselves struggling to keep up with Butler all night long and looked reluctant to double-team him. Skip Bayless was very impressed with the Heat star and claimed that the Bucks played as well as they could against the Heat:
“I do consider this the best defensive team in the league. They are a desperate team that are number one overall. They know it and they play to it. They have missed Giannis but he got a triple-double after an injury last night. I thought Milwaukee on offense played as well as they could against a scrappy Miami Heat defence.”
He went on to compare Butler to Michael Jordan:
"In all my years of watching and studying the NBA, I have never seen a more patient, cleverer, craftier scorer than this guy, and that's including Jordan. He is totally in rhythm. It’s all in his own speed. He is like, 'I am gonna wait, I am gonna wait.' He is not just taking you down low, he is taking you on the perimeter.”
"I have never seen a more patient, cleverer, craftier scorer than this guy, and that's including Jordan."
— @RealSkipBayless on Jimmy Butler's 56 pt game https://t.co/gqtSQIc1u9
Jimmy Butler receives high praise after historic playoff performance
The Miami Heat have found themselves against a superior team in the Milwaukee Bucks but have responded superbly thus far. Jimmy Butler appeared highly driven and was determined to win Game 4 for his team. His historic performance allowed the Heat to take a 3-1 lead, which has led to some humbling comparisons for Butler.
Jimmy Butler is a defensively astute guard and has shown high efficiency throughout the series. He converted all four of his 3-point attempts in Game 3 and 19 of his 28 field-goal attempts in Game 4.
Most 35+ point Playoff games in Heat history:
Dwyane Wade: 14 Games
Jimmy Butler: 10 Games
LeBron James: 9 Games https://t.co/JLwIWWLCPF
While Skip Bayless claimed that Michael Jordan used to produce such performances when the stakes were higher, Jimmy Butler’s shots were tougher:
“If I go all-time, this is only the first round of Playoffs. For me, the greatest game I ever saw, was Jordan’s last game when he scored 45 of their 87 points, which is 55% at the time. Circumstantially, the stakes were so much higher. When I go shot to shot, I gotta say, Jimmy had tougher shots just on the fact that all of his were contested.”