The Golden State Warriors picked up a huge play-in tournament win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, securing their spot in the playoffs and will face the Houston Rockets in the first round.
Golden State's trade deadline acquisition of six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler already seems to be paying off, as he dropped 38 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals on 12-20 shooting from the field and 12-18 from the free-throw line in Tuesday's win.
Butler has always been regarded as one of the league's top playoff performers, especially when he was with the Miami Heat, but now the Warriors will witness firsthand how he ups his game in the playoffs.
Heat legend and three-time NBA champion Udonis Haslem took to NBA Countdown on Wednesday night to talk about how Butler performs in the postseason. However, Haslem said that he told Dwyane Wade that Butler is much smarter than he and LeBron James.
"I had this conversation with Dwyane Wade last night. I told him to his face, 'You are talented as hell, LeBron has been talented as hell, but (Butler) is way smarter than y'all.' He is very smart. He is an extremely smart basketball player," Haslem said.
Butler is undoubtedly one of the smartest on-court stars in the league, but LeBron James has separated himself from the pack in that area. Of course, James has been physically dominant for two decades, but his elite basketball mind has kept him at the top of his game for this long.
Of course, Haslem has been teammates with all three stars, so he has firsthand experience with each one, but it seems like a stretch to compare Butler to James. Still, Haslem praising Butler to this degree is very telling for the caliber of player the Warriors got at the trade deadline.
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