Heat's Jimmy Butler: Eastern Conference Finals 'Not My Goal'; We Want to Win It

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler said reaching the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games "means a lot," but he added that the Heat have far greater aspirations.

"That's not my goal. That's not my guys' goal. That's not the organization's goal," he told reporters. "We want to win it. We want a championship, and I think that's what we're focused on."

The Heat beat the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks in Game 5, 103-94, shocking the top seed in the East and sending Miami to the conference finals, where it'll face either the Boston Celtics or Toronto Raptors. Boston currently leads that series 3-2.

Miami has gotten to this point with solid coaching, balance and defense, though the Heat may need a bit more from Butler to get past either Boston or Toronto. While he had some big games against Milwaukee—40 points in Game 1 and 30 points in Game 3—he averaged a more pedestrian 15.7 points in the other three contests.

Butler consistently contributed in other ways, averaging 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals in the series. But Miami's top offensive threat may need to force the issue a bit more to push the team to the next level. He could get away with taking just six shots from the field and eight free throws in Game 5 against a Bucks team that didn't have Antetokounmpo, but that style of play isn't sustainable.

Granted, Butler's unselfishness has allowed younger players like Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn to grow into key contributors this season. Role players like Jae Crowder and Goran Dragic have thrived in the postseason. Bam Adebayo has developed into one of the best young centers in basketball.

Without a doubt, Butler deserves credit for helping to cultivate a team-first mentality.

To this point, he's found the right balance in the postseason as Miami is now 8-1 in the playoffs. But it will be interesting to see if he's forced to take on a bigger offensive burden as the competition ramps up.