Jimmy Butler torched Milwaukee late in Game 1 of the Bucks-Heat second-round playoff series on Monday night, and for some reason, the Defensive Player of the Year award winner was not asked to guard him.
The Heat didn’t shoot the ball particularly well in Monday’s 115-104 win, especially from the perimeter. But it didn’t matter, because Butler delivered a performance for the ages, dropping a career-high 40 points on an efficient 13-of-20 shooting.
Butler literally could not miss down the stretch, in a game that the Heat led by only a point with just under five minutes remaining. The Bucks could’ve stolen the win late, had they done a better job guarding Butler, as the Heat’s role players did not shoot the ball well. It was the Butler and Goran Dragic show that led the team to victory.
But the best defender on the court, Giannis Antetokounmpo, was apparently not asked by head coach Mike Budenholzer to guard Butler late in the game. And Giannis didn’t like getting asked about it by reporters, either.
“No, I didn’t. Why would you ask that?” Antetokounmpo questioned, after being asked about potentially guarding Butler. “…I’ll do whatever coach tells me to do.”
It also appears as if Giannis wants to make it known that he simply was not asked to guard Butler — a questionable decision by Budenholzer which deserves to be scrutinized.
