Given his toughness and no-nonsense mentality, I figured Jimmy Butler would be well above sports cliches.
Nope.
The former Heat All-Star referenced Tuesday as “just another game on just another day,” when asked about facing Miami for the first time since being traded to the Warriors.
But we know Butler. While he primarily is all business, he definitely knows this is the furthest thing from another game.
The future Hall of Famer unceremoniously forced his way out of Miami before the trade deadline after 5 ¹/₂ seasons with the Heat that saw two NBA Finals appearances. Overall, it was a successful tenure, but it ended badly.
Heat vs. Warriors prediction
(7:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
I will put my 35-19 ATS record in this Post section on the line and back the Warriors as a road favorite. However, I do not necessarily think Butler will have a monster performance. Rather, I find other reasons for the wager.
First, Steph Curry is set to return and should be recharged, having missed two of the team’s past three games because of load management. Also, the Heat just snapped their 10-game losing streak, and while it won’t necessarily translate to a relaxed or flat performance, I do believe relief is part of the equation.
The Warriors have played extremely well with Butler, climbing to the Western Conference’s sixth seed with a 41-30 record. All the pieces seem to fit. Plus, they recently got role players Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II back from injury and are at full strength.
Miami has become a mess since trading Butler, although Andrew Wiggins has returned from injury and just scored 42 points in their most recent game.
That is a massive boost, and I do think he will play well against his former team; he was part of the Butler trade. His prop bets could provide some value.
Betting on the NBA?
But overall, the Heat have struggled because they go through too many scoring droughts, Bam Adebayo has seemingly regressed this season, and fourth quarters have become an Achilles’ heel.
I’m rolling with the Warriors to cover.
PICK: Warriors -5.5 (-110, ESPN BET)
I have a 35-19 ATS record in this Post sports section. For more betting analysis and much more, please visit our page (onlyplayers.com/pluspost) solely dedicated to New York Post readers with a 50-percent discount.
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Doug Kezirian is a New York Post contributor who currently serves as the Chief Content Officer for Only Players, a sports betting media company. Doug has over two decades of experience in the betting space, including spending 11 years at ESPN as a host, columnist and betting analyst. He’s also the rare personality who has documented success – 14th place in 2023 Circa Million and Las Vegas SuperContest ($37K), two top-10 finishes in 2022 William Hill College Football Challenge ($58K) and also grabbed headlines with a $297K win on the 2021 NFL Draft.
