Now We Get Playoff Jimmy.

He's pretty good, Chuck

Thanks for reading The Dope.

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Jimmy Butler was absolute poison in Miami. He’d decided that the whole relationship was broken, and he basically picked up his ball and went home (almost literally — the guy stopped showing up at practice), and he forced the Heat and their super-ego of a top exec, Pat Riley, to do something.

That something, a suspension, occurred a couple of months ago. Looking back, though, it’s important to note that it went down only after a whole lot of good stuff had also happened in Miami over the years when Butler was there. In other words, the relationship didn’t start out so badly; it just eventually veered in that direction.

Because this wasn’t Jimmy’s first time to have conflict with an employer, the initial thought might have been, “Same guy.” But when the Golden State Warriors swooped in and plucked Butler in a multi-team trade that got worked out on Feb. 5, we began to sense that the issue wasn’t as simple as a lone villain acting out — not that Butler minded playing that role.

He wanted out, after all.

Got out.

Got to California.

And look now.

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Something happened, all right. Among other things, the Warriors were correct in assuming that Butler still had gas in the tank and the ability to drive. This was a franchise stuck at around .500 at the time of the deal; Golden State then went 24-9 down the stretch to crash the Western Conference playoff party.

In Game 1 of the Warriors’ first-round series with Houston, Butler collected 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. He played 42 minutes with one turnover. He was Playoff Jimmy, the same guy who has helped multiple previous teams — the Bulls, Sixers, and especially Heat — to some serious post-season pushes.

After Golden State’s 95-85 win over the host Rockets, the Warriors’ Steph Curry jumped on with the Inside the NBA crew for a quick minute. Charles Barkley baited Curry a bit on the subject of Butler. Here’s how it went:

Chuck: “Obviously, he’s a heck of a player. He’s giving you the ability to rest more. He’s not as great as you, but he’s a really nice second closer to have on the team, correct?”

Curry: “Jimmy’s nice. Don’t get that twisted. He’s carried teams to the Finals. The idea of what he brings to us is another guy who is just comfortable with the ball in his hands to create for himself and others, no matter what the situation is. You saw plenty times, he kind of made something out of nothing. He is a legitimate ballhandler, where we can give it to him in space, on the post, at the elbow, wherever and teams have to respect him. So if I can space and give him room and keep the defense honest, that helps. And we’ve had a really good chemistry since he’s been here.”

Oh — the Miami Heat finished the regular season at 37-45 and got eliminated by Atlanta in a play-in game. I’m not saying they could have fixed things with Jimmy Butler in time to save their season; in fact, it sure looks like the relationship was hopelessly broken. On the other hand, the Heat were 25-24 at the time that Riley decided there was nothing left to do but to find a way to get Butler out of town. Now the Warriors get Playoff Jimmy. Relationships at the start — you gotta love ‘em.