Is Grant a goner? (Yes: Traded to DAL for second rounders)

[SparzWizard]

Heat's Jimmy Butler: Exchange with Grant Williams fueled me.

After the basket, Butler immediately got head-to-head with Williams as the pair exchanged words and were each assessed a technical foul. The Heat closed the game on a 24-9 run.

"Yes, it did," Butler said. "But that's just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me. I like that. I'm all for that. It makes me key in a lot more. It pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does.

Grant needs to know when to close his mouth. Cost us that Cavs game. A factor that also costed us Game 2.

This C's team can take a lesson from Butler anyways. Lack of intensity and mindset.

[angryguy77]

Heat's Jimmy Butler: Exchange with Grant Williams fueled me.

After the basket, Butler immediately got head-to-head with Williams as the pair exchanged words and were each assessed a technical foul. The Heat closed the game on a 24-9 run.

"Yes, it did," Butler said. "But that's just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me. I like that. I'm all for that. It makes me key in a lot more. It pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does.

Grant needs to know when to close his mouth. Cost us that Cavs game. A factor that also costed us Game 2.

This C's team can take a lesson from Butler anyways. Lack of intensity and mindset.

If our guys got going after some trash talk, we would be questioning why that's needed at this point in the season..

Grant didn't make butler play better.

You guys really think Butler wasn't playing his hardest up until that point? Come.on

[Goldstar88]

You guys that wanted Grant to get minutes. That’s why he shouldn’t. Couple of nice plays and a bunch of bad ones. Let’s his emotions get the best of him and got absolutely torched by Butler.

thats on the coach for leaving Grant 1 on 1 on butler.

we let Miami switch to the matchups they wanted every trip down the floor

So did you want to send a double team every time the Heat force a switch resulting in Grant guarding Jimmy? You do realize that by doing this the Heat get a wide open 3pt shot every time and Butler will find the open man. This is why Grant and Pritchard really shouldn’t be playing. Too much of a liability and Spolestra will hunt the mismatches.

Amazing that doubling tatum works...

Jimmy has smoked us 2 tines.....but yeah, let's be scared of what might happen and just allow him to get what he wants.Poor ol Joe has no choice, it's not like he has a roster capable of guys playing elite defense

You do realize that the Heat have been shooting the 3Pt ball at a high level and the Celtics are not, right? So letting them have wide open 3’s is not exactly ideal. Maybe they won’t be able to double Tatum as much if guys start making shots. But until then…

[Phantom255x]

G-Will did far more than Pritchard in the game he played compared to PP's game, and I at least appreciate that someone out there on our team looked like they cared. Him and Tatum. That's it. Horford briefly did in Game 1 before halftime I guess. But he hasn't backed it up since. Everyone else just looks like they are going through the motions and have their vacation trips planned.

Also Smart literally went from Magic Johnson-lite in Game 1 first half to basically looking like another Wanamaker/Nesmith/Langford on this team since. Mostly useless, definitely not making winning/hustle plays often, being horrid along with JB for stretches costing us, etc.

[Goldstar88]

Heat's Jimmy Butler: Exchange with Grant Williams fueled me.

After the basket, Butler immediately got head-to-head with Williams as the pair exchanged words and were each assessed a technical foul. The Heat closed the game on a 24-9 run.

"Yes, it did," Butler said. "But that's just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me. I like that. I'm all for that. It makes me key in a lot more. It pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does.

Grant needs to know when to close his mouth. Cost us that Cavs game. A factor that also costed us Game 2.

This C's team can take a lesson from Butler anyways. Lack of intensity and mindset.

If our guys got going after some trash talk, we would be questioning why that's needed at this point in the season..

Grant didn't make butler play better.

You guys really think Butler wasn't playing his hardest up until that point? Come.on

Did you watch the game? Butler clearly put it into another gear after that.

From the time Williams talked trash to Butler to the time he checked out of the game, the Heat rattled off a 15-4 run to take a 102-100 lead. Nine of those points were scored by Butler.

[Phantom255x]

Heat's Jimmy Butler: Exchange with Grant Williams fueled me.

After the basket, Butler immediately got head-to-head with Williams as the pair exchanged words and were each assessed a technical foul. The Heat closed the game on a 24-9 run.

"Yes, it did," Butler said. "But that's just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me. I like that. I'm all for that. It makes me key in a lot more. It pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does.

Grant needs to know when to close his mouth. Cost us that Cavs game. A factor that also costed us Game 2.

This C's team can take a lesson from Butler anyways. Lack of intensity and mindset.

If our guys got going after some trash talk, we would be questioning why that's needed at this point in the season..

Grant didn't make butler play better.

You guys really think Butler wasn't playing his hardest up until that point? Come.on

Did you watch the game? Butler clearly put it into another gear after that.

From the time Williams talked trash to Butler to the time he checked out of the game, the Heat rattled off a 15-4 run to take a 102-100 lead. Nine of those points were scored by Butler.

I've seen Butler do that many times to teams even without any trash talking. It's a bit weird that we're blaming a loss on this. If it weren't for G-Will we would have been toast a lot earlier. He was hitting some big shots that kept us in it while the others were all selling (Jaylen, Smart, Horford)

[green_bballers13]

Heat's Jimmy Butler: Exchange with Grant Williams fueled me.

After the basket, Butler immediately got head-to-head with Williams as the pair exchanged words and were each assessed a technical foul. The Heat closed the game on a 24-9 run.

"Yes, it did," Butler said. "But that's just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me. I like that. I'm all for that. It makes me key in a lot more. It pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does.

Grant needs to know when to close his mouth. Cost us that Cavs game. A factor that also costed us Game 2.

This C's team can take a lesson from Butler anyways. Lack of intensity and mindset.

If our guys got going after some trash talk, we would be questioning why that's needed at this point in the season..

Grant didn't make butler play better.

You guys really think Butler wasn't playing his hardest up until that point? Come.on

Did you watch the game? Butler clearly put it into another gear after that.

From the time Williams talked trash to Butler to the time he checked out of the game, the Heat rattled off a 15-4 run to take a 102-100 lead. Nine of those points were scored by Butler.

Correlation does not imply causation. Grant did get in Jimmy's face, but that game could have gone in different directions. The Celtics could have used that as fuel as well. Marcus could have balled out on D, Brown could have delivered a thunder dunk, and Tatum could have hit a step-back 3 dagger. Our role player took their star head on, and our stars didn't respond.

The Celtics did not lose last night because Grant got in Butler's face. They lost for about 20 other reasons, mostly related to missing shots or turning the ball over. The Heat are playing with a purpose and are well coached. The Celtics are scattered at times and have regressed in ball movement and shot selection.

I'm not one to pay role players big money. I'm fine if Grant walks in FA. I just don't think we need to criticize his willingness to compete. We should applaud it.

[Goldstar88]

Heat's Jimmy Butler: Exchange with Grant Williams fueled me.

After the basket, Butler immediately got head-to-head with Williams as the pair exchanged words and were each assessed a technical foul. The Heat closed the game on a 24-9 run.

"Yes, it did," Butler said. "But that's just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me. I like that. I'm all for that. It makes me key in a lot more. It pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does.

Grant needs to know when to close his mouth. Cost us that Cavs game. A factor that also costed us Game 2.

This C's team can take a lesson from Butler anyways. Lack of intensity and mindset.

If our guys got going after some trash talk, we would be questioning why that's needed at this point in the season..

Grant didn't make butler play better.

You guys really think Butler wasn't playing his hardest up until that point? Come.on

Did you watch the game? Butler clearly put it into another gear after that.

From the time Williams talked trash to Butler to the time he checked out of the game, the Heat rattled off a 15-4 run to take a 102-100 lead. Nine of those points were scored by Butler.

I've seen Butler do that many times to teams even without any trash talking. It's a bit weird that we're blaming a loss on this. If it weren't for G-Will we would have been toast a lot earlier. He was hitting some big shots that kept us in it while the others were all selling (Jaylen, Smart, Horford)

Obviously wasn’t the sole reason for the loss, but it certainly didn’t help matters. Grant did play well when he first came into the game. Didn’t last long, though. He was a liability by the end.

[Phantom255x]

Heat's Jimmy Butler: Exchange with Grant Williams fueled me.

After the basket, Butler immediately got head-to-head with Williams as the pair exchanged words and were each assessed a technical foul. The Heat closed the game on a 24-9 run.

"Yes, it did," Butler said. "But that's just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me. I like that. I'm all for that. It makes me key in a lot more. It pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does.

Grant needs to know when to close his mouth. Cost us that Cavs game. A factor that also costed us Game 2.

This C's team can take a lesson from Butler anyways. Lack of intensity and mindset.

If our guys got going after some trash talk, we would be questioning why that's needed at this point in the season..

Grant didn't make butler play better.

You guys really think Butler wasn't playing his hardest up until that point? Come.on

Did you watch the game? Butler clearly put it into another gear after that.

From the time Williams talked trash to Butler to the time he checked out of the game, the Heat rattled off a 15-4 run to take a 102-100 lead. Nine of those points were scored by Butler.

I've seen Butler do that many times to teams even without any trash talking. It's a bit weird that we're blaming a loss on this. If it weren't for G-Will we would have been toast a lot earlier. He was hitting some big shots that kept us in it while the others were all selling (Jaylen, Smart, Horford)

Obviously wasn’t the sole reason for the loss, but it certainly didn’t help. Grant did play well when he first came into the game. Didn’t last long, though. He was a liability by the end.

That's fair. But I'd argue the entire team looked like "liabilities" at the end too. Grant didn't even play Game 1 and I'd argue that loss was even worse. Brown, Smart and Horford in particular need to be much better or we're getting swept. Idk how a guy like Caleb Martin is also allowed to score 25

[Goldstar88]

Heat's Jimmy Butler: Exchange with Grant Williams fueled me.

After the basket, Butler immediately got head-to-head with Williams as the pair exchanged words and were each assessed a technical foul. The Heat closed the game on a 24-9 run.

"Yes, it did," Butler said. "But that's just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me. I like that. I'm all for that. It makes me key in a lot more. It pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does.

Grant needs to know when to close his mouth. Cost us that Cavs game. A factor that also costed us Game 2.

This C's team can take a lesson from Butler anyways. Lack of intensity and mindset.

If our guys got going after some trash talk, we would be questioning why that's needed at this point in the season..

Grant didn't make butler play better.

You guys really think Butler wasn't playing his hardest up until that point? Come.on

Did you watch the game? Butler clearly put it into another gear after that.

From the time Williams talked trash to Butler to the time he checked out of the game, the Heat rattled off a 15-4 run to take a 102-100 lead. Nine of those points were scored by Butler.

I've seen Butler do that many times to teams even without any trash talking. It's a bit weird that we're blaming a loss on this. If it weren't for G-Will we would have been toast a lot earlier. He was hitting some big shots that kept us in it while the others were all selling (Jaylen, Smart, Horford)

Obviously wasn’t the sole reason for the loss, but it certainly didn’t help. Grant did play well when he first came into the game. Didn’t last long, though. He was a liability by the end.

That's fair. But I'd argue the entire team looked like "liabilities" at the end too. Grant didn't even play Game 1 and I'd argue that loss was even worse. Brown, Smart and Horford in particular need to be much better or we're getting swept. Idk how a guy like Caleb Martin is also allowed to score 25

Smart, Brown, and Horford were awful yesterday. No denying that. Spolestra wasn’t telling his players to hunt those guys, though. He was clearly going after Grant and taking full advantage of the mismatch. Same as he did with Pritchard. Have to give Caleb Martin a little credit, though. He was hitting some incredibly difficult shots.

[Who]

Kirk Goldsberry
@kirkgoldsberry
The Heat shot 6-for-7 with Grant Williams as the primary defender in the 4th quarter, including 4-for-5 from Jimmy Butler per ESPN tracking.

[Who]

Heat's Jimmy Butler: Exchange with Grant Williams fueled me.

After the basket, Butler immediately got head-to-head with Williams as the pair exchanged words and were each assessed a technical foul. The Heat closed the game on a 24-9 run.

"Yes, it did," Butler said. "But that's just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me. I like that. I'm all for that. It makes me key in a lot more. It pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does.

Grant needs to know when to close his mouth. Cost us that Cavs game. A factor that also costed us Game 2.

This C's team can take a lesson from Butler anyways. Lack of intensity and mindset.

I love this about Grant. Then again, I love agitators. I love guys that go at other people. I love that about Dillon Brooks. I love stars that do it. I love role players that do it. I love opposition players that do it. I love that fiestiness. That competitiveness. Getting after it.

I was listening to a Paul Pierce interview recently and he was talking about the 2008 team. He was talking about how many guys had this type of mentality on that team vs how few do in the NBA today. It wasn't just KG or himself. It was Rondo and Perk. It was Posey. It was Tony Allen. It was Big Baby. They had a team full of guys who used to get after opponents. Such a rare group to have so many guys who love to get at their opponents.

Anyway, back to G Will, I love that he shares that mentality and brings that to this team.

[Who]

You guys that wanted Grant to get minutes. That’s why he shouldn’t. Couple of nice plays and a bunch of bad ones. Let’s his emotions get the best of him and got absolutely torched by Butler.

thats on the coach for leaving Grant 1 on 1 on butler.

we let Miami switch to the matchups they wanted every trip down the floor

So did you want to send a double team every time the Heat force a switch resulting in Grant guarding Jimmy? You do realize that by doing this the Heat get a wide open 3pt shot every time and Butler will find the open man. This is why Grant and Pritchard really shouldn’t be playing. Too much of a liability and Spolestra will hunt the mismatches.

Amazing that doubling tatum works...

Jimmy has smoked us 2 tines.....but yeah, let's be scared of what might happen and just allow him to get what he wants.Poor ol Joe has no choice, it's not like he has a roster capable of guys playing elite defense

Jimmy hunting the mismatch and exploiting Mazzula leaving the defense out an island against Jimmy is just a continuation of what Trae Young did in Round One and what Harden did in the ECSF.

Same coaching decision being exploited over and over and over again throughout the playoffs by opposing teams.

[gouki88]

Eh.  A member of the media said something like this:  There's all this talk about "poking the bear".  The Celtics are supposed to be the bear.

It's like a hockey fight.  Grant was trying to bring some fire.

It's the ECF. Butler has been killing it all playoffs. I don't think something like this was going to abruptly "wake him up" or whatever, he just did what he's done all postseason.

[Larry for 3]

Grant Williams was fine. It’s not his fault no1 else responded and that he was left out to dry vs butler. Thought we had the defensive player of the year out there. Can’t he guard butler ? Why don’t we go zone? We did nothing