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Jimmy Butler on Hype vs. T.J. Warren: 'Kill That, That's Something of the Past'
August 16, 2020
Jimmy Butler doesn't expect his beef with T.J. Warren to carry over to their first-round playoff series.
"We can kill that. That's something of the past," Butler told reporters Sunday.
Butler and Warren got into a beef during a Heat win over the Pacers in January, with the Miami star ripping into the bubble breakout star after the game.
"He's not even on my f--king league—nowhere near me," Butler told reporters then. "If I was their coach, I would never even put him on me ever again. Like, no. Put somebody else on me. Imma tear that ass up every time. He's trash."
The duo faced off for the first time since January in the bubble, with Butler scoring 19 points to lead the Heat to a 114-92 win. Warren was held to just 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting, his worst performance since games resumed in Orlando.
The Pacers held him out of their final two seeding games as he continues battling plantar fasciitis.
Of all the first-round series, Miami-Indiana may be the most difficult to call. The Pacers finished one game ahead of the Heat after the seeding games concluded, but Miami has a better point differential and is playing essentially with its full roster of stars. The Pacers are expected to be without All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis, who injured his foot in the lead up to the restart.
If the Pacers want to advance to the second round for the first time since 2014, they'll need Warren to win this battle and prove once and for all he's in Butler's league.