Dwyane Wade has been super critical of Jimmy Butler and the way he played in the Warriors second round loss to the Timberwolves.
Wade, (in a podcast episode that was recorded after the Warriors lost Game 4 but before they were eliminated), blasted Butlers Game 4 performance while comparing it to his 2023 NBA Finals appearance with the Heat.
I didnt likethe way he just approached the game, Wade said, via Time Out with Dwyane Wade on the WY Network. I know Jimmy is a pass-first guy. I know hes about getting his teammates the ball and wanting to see them shine. But its a point wherethis aint working. You gotta go. He wouldnt look at the basket, and Ive seen this before. Ive seen it in a Heat jersey. And so, in a sense, when Pat [Riley] come out, Pat say, We aint wanna give you the extension, its not always because of injuries. Sometimes its, I need to see what you gonna do in every moment, not just in one moment.
We saw Jimmy in the bubble. He was a dog. I saw Jimmy in another Finals too against the Denver Nuggets, and he did the exact same thing he did the other night. He did not look at the basket. I dont wanna see that. Jimmy Butler is too good of a basketball player to not have his imprint on the game, and sorry, sir, when its time for you to take over, you just have to. And even if you cant do it from a standpoint of you aint making no shots, I dont care. Shoot. Its bad offense if youre not shooting. To get too close in that paint and not putting that ball up to that basket, thats bad offense when your team needs you to do it.
As we know, the Warriors went on to drop Game 5 without Curry, while Butlertook just 11 shots and finished with 17 points.
Its hard to critique Jimmy too much, as he was dealing with an apparent illness, as well as contusions from when he took a hard fall in the first round.
READ MORE: Aaron Gordon Opens Up About Injury After Nuggets Elimination
