T.J. Warren and Jimmy Butler birthed a new chapter in the Miami Heat-Indiana Pacers rivalry. Unfortunately, it will be some time before we see the next episode.
In the days of LeBron James leading the Miami Heat, the Indiana Pacers were a fierce and at times comical rival. No team in the Eastern Conference sparked such consistent fear into the prospect of knocking the Heat off before reaching the Finals.
While Indiana never succeeded in eliminating the Heat in the playoffs, they sure were impactful in wearing them down.
In the years since James has gone back to the Cleveland Cavaliers and then to the Los Angeles Lakers, the rivalry with the Heat has tapered off. Thankfully, this year it spiked back up.
Jimmy Butler, an equally strong character to James and a fierce competitor in his own right, has brought a new flame to the Heat and led them to be one of the most complete teams in the Eastern Conference this season. Butler is known for not holding back his thoughts and feelings on any given subject matter.
He famously rampaged a practice in Minnesota in an effort to force a trade away from the Timberwolves at the start of last season. He requested to play with the second unit in a scrimmage and absolutely went off, yelling to Scott Layden, the team’s GM, “you can’t win without me!”
If Butler feels a certain way, you’ll know about it. This is how he communicates, through raw and authentic bursts of emotion.
He let Warren know about how he felt in a similar profanity-laced tirade in the last matchup between the Pacers and Heat.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1215083953557651456
Butler after the game would call Warren “soft” “trash” and said that he’s not even in the same league.
It’s easy for a casual fan to see Warren as the lesser in the scuffle here. He’s not as much of a household name and not as good of a player as Butler.
To say he’s not even in the same league, though? I don’t know about that.
Warren averages 18.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game with a true shooting percentage of 59.9. Butler puts up 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game with a 58.3 percent true shooting percentage.
In the 13:27 that Warren has guarded Butler this season, he’s forced five turnovers.
Butler is better, for sure, but Warren belongs in the same league and the same conversations as Butler. The trash talk, in the language of Jimmy, can be interpreted as that of admiration and of respect, even if the words don’t reflect that.
Following their scuffle in early January, the hype was building for the next matchup.
The Pacers and Heat were scheduled to face off next on March 20th in Indiana. Butler did his part in ramping the hype up by quite literally circling it on his calendar and posting it on Instagram after their scuffle, tagging Warren in the post.
Given the league’s suspended status, that matchup was postponed. We should have spent Saturday breaking the game down and talking about how Warren put the clamps on Butler.
Warren brings tenacity to the Pacers. He comes to the court with fire and swagger. Butler’s reputation around the league is one that shouldn’t be tampered with, and Warren did just that. He’s not going to let someone disrespect him or the team he plays for.
Not many players will even come close to doing that when it comes to Butler.
With the NBA and all sports on hold, fans long for these things. The petty wars, the player and team rivalries, they are some of the most enjoyable parts of being a sports fan. They give a narrative and story arc to the 48 minutes of basketball we watch each night.
Here’s looking forward to this Pacers/Heat rivalry being reborn again very soon.