Jacari McRae | March 11th, 2020
When Jimmy Butler made the decision to go to Miami he was criticized. Some wondered why he would leave a potential title contender in Philadelphia for a team that just missed the playoffs the season prior. Was there tension between Butler and his Sixers teammates? Or maybe Butler just wanted to be the guy in Miami.
On Wednesday’s episode of the J.J. Reddick Podcast, Jimmy Butler specifically mentioned the lack of leadership in Philadelphia as one of the things he was not fond of during his time there.
“Hell yeah, it was difficult. It was so different, and on any given day, me as a person, as a player, I didn’t know who the f–k was in charge. I think that was my biggest thing. I didn’t know what the f–k to expect whenever I would go into the gym, whenever I’d go into the plane, whenever I’d go into the game. I was like: ‘Man.’ I think I was as lost as the next motherf–ker.”
Unlike Philadelphia, the Heat have one of the most stable franchises in the league. And it all starts at the top with the strong leadership of Pat Riley, who cares about winning. Riley expects his players to be in top physical condition. The team is infamous for regularly measuring players’ body fat. If a player does not reach the Heat’s conditioning standards, the player will not play in any games.
The marriage between Butler and the Heat has worked out well so far. As of Wednesday afternoon, Miami is fourth in the Eastern Conference at 41-23. The Heat are also three games up on the sixth-place Philadelphia 76ers.
For more on Butler and the Heat, check out our friends over at fivereasonssports.com
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