Camila Sosa
Not only did the Miami Heat lose a game against the Golden State Warriors without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, but they also had, perhaps, the most dramatic moment of their entire season with Jimmy Butler involved in a very hectic argument with head coach Erik Spoelstra and team legend Udonis Haslem. The participants had to be separated by their own teammates so that the situation did not escalate to a more violent discussion than it already was.
Events between Jimmy Butler, Erik Spoelstra, and Udonis Haslem
After falling by a score of 118 to 104 with an incomplete Warriors roster, during the end of the third quarter the altercation began to unfold before the fans, with Spoelstra and Butler exchanging words in a group meeting that led to Haslem’s anger about the Miami Heat star, offering him a “beating” outside the stadium and from that moment everything ended up getting out of control. The three of them had to be separated by their teammates, and none of the three involved seemed to want to get away from the dispute, even with the head coach throwing his working instruments into the duel violently.
The Heat have four losses in their last seven games, two of them coming against the Philadelphia 76ers without Joel Embiid and James Harden, and the latter against Golden State without its three biggest stars, in addition to having a 14-point deficit in total at the end of the game. What happened between Jimmy Butler and Erik Spoelstra so far is still uncertain, but the two-time NBA champions tried to disguise it and be as subtle as possible at the post-game press conference.
“We can use moments like that during the season to catapult ourselves, we can provoke together about our frustration and disappointment, other teams can also go the other way. I don’t see that happening in our group.”
“Everyone was wondering where we were going to have dinner after the game.”
Erik Spoelstra, coach of the Miami Heat to the ESPN network.
In 50 games, Butler has averaged 21.2 points, 6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals, however he has had a disappointing campaign in terms of effectiveness, with two losses per game on average and a percentage of 46.9% from the field and 20.2% from the three-point line. Against the Warriors he had 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 40 minutes of play.
Miami remains at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 47-26 record with a game-and-a-half lead over the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. This weekend they will visit the two New York teams, the Knicks (on Friday) and the Nets (on Saturday), in two meetings that will be crucial to maintaining their advantage over their pursuers. But we do not know the repercussions that this episode between Butler and Erik Spoelstra has had so far and that will have in the future.
