No love lost as Jimmy Butler returns to Miami for Warriors Heat showdown

MIAMI – Jimmy Butler is not thinking about Miami. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he is not thinking about Butler either.

But when the Golden State Warriors visit on March 25 (March 26, Singapore time),Butler’s thoughts will inevitably turn to his multiple suspensions by Miami this season before he was finally traded on Feb 6.

“Yeah, I was traded from there, yada, yada, yada,” Butler said. “Yeah, it didn’t end the way people wanted... But that’s so far behind me now. I don’t even think about it. I don’t think about nothing except the trajectory of our squad.”

That trajectory is pretty good as the Warriors (41-30) are 16-4 since acquiring Butler, who missed one of the losses, a 126-119 defeat by the Philadelphia 76ers, due to back spasms.

The Heat (30-41),meanwhile, just went through a 10-game losing streak that was the franchise’s longest skid since the 2007-08 season.

After finally ending the streak with a 122-105 win over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on March 23, Spoelstra was asked about Butler, who helped the Heat reach the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals in 2023.

“We’ve been so engulfed in our situation that if I said I haven’t noticed the schedule, everyone would roll their eyes,” Spoelstra said. “But I really haven’t been able to check out the schedule. We have been trying to get a damn win.

“I was aware of it (the upcoming Warriors game). But the highest form of sanity is to be in the present moment. So, give me some time on that. There will be a lot of different feelings. I probably won’t express all of them (to the media).”

“We had a great five-year run,” he added. “We didn’t win the title, but we had great moments. That’s what I will remember. It