Jimmy Butler: If You Want to Win NBA Title, You Have to Go Through LeBron James

The Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals after defeating the Boston Celtics 125-113 on Sunday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and Jimmy Butler is already looking ahead to a matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Butler told reporters that he has learned the road to the NBA title typically runs through LeBron James:

"The main key—and it's been like this for a very long time—if you want to win, you're going to have to go through a LeBron James-led team. At the end of the day, that's normally what it comes down to. That's what we've got to focus in on. Obviously we can't just focus in on him because he has so many really good players around him, but you're going to get the same test over and over again until you pass it, and that test is LeBron James."

He also noted Miami would have to be "damn near perfect" to get past James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers:

Butler is going to be tested in particular, as he'll likely spend a decent chunk of the series defending James and could even draw some assignments on Davis. Ideally, the Heat would probably prefer to match Bam Adebayo on Davis, but if the Lakers choose to go big with Davis at power forward, it could create some tricky matchup scenarios for Miami.  

Butler and the Heat built a wall to deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo and dealt with the talented perimeter players of the Celtics, so they'll come up with a solid plan for the Lakers. But players as talented as James and Davis can defy schemes.

That's obviously a concern for Miami, especially with the Lakers' solid crew of veteran role players, from Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard to Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma.  

The Heat are the story of the playoffs, going on an improbable run to put themselves in a position to win a title. But James—who has now reached the NBA Finals in nine of the past 10 seasons—is the NBA's equivalent of a final boss fight. Butler knows that if you want to beat the game, you have to beat James.