Jimmy Butler exploded on the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Butler is a player who is inconsistent with his scoring, however, when he is motivated, he can put up some truly impressive numbers. He scored 41 points in that Game 1, however, as many noted, he did it without Marcus Smart in the Celtics lineup. Smart is the defensive player of the year and analysts believe it will be a much different series once he returns.
Hilariously, last night, Shaq and Charles Barkley had a debate about this on Inside The NBA. It was quite the heated argument with Chuck saying that Butler won’t be able to score as much once Smart comes back. Shaq, on the other hand, was being stubborn, noting that Butler can put up those numbers against anyone.
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“It’s harder to score on the Defensive Player of the Year fool!” Barkley said. That’s when Shaq started getting very loud, exclaiming how he always used to put up huge numbers against superstar defenders. Barkley made the point that Butler is nowhere near the player that Shaq is, however, Shaq believes Butler is a true superstar who can do it all.
The shouting match between these two got pretty loud and overall, it was pretty funny. Shaq and Chuck always make for good TV and this was yet another example of that.
Let us know who you think is right, in the comments down below.