Jimmy Butler scored 28 points in his Philadelphia debut, leading the Sixers past the Utah Jazz, 113-107. Urged on by a boisterous crowd Butler demonstrated his four-time all-star skills at both ends. Joel Embiid added 23 points for the Sixers, while Donovan Mitchell’s 31 on 35 shots led Utah
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and handed out seven assists in his Philadelphia debut, leading the Sixers to a 113-107 win over the Utah Jazz. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) Getty
If there was any anxiety, any trepidation Jimmy Butler might have felt before making his highly anticipated Philadelphia debut last night against the Utah Jazz, it couldn’t have lasted for long.
Moments after Allen Iverson–still the fan favorite–walked to center court to ring the team’s version of the Liberty Bell and the rest of the preliminaries concluded, there was no. 23 in his new home grey designer uniform encircled in stars, chomping at the bit.
Ready to begin a new chapter in a new town just as ready to shower him with love.
If there was any doubt about that it took only 86 seconds to know for sure. “Jimmy Butler! Jimmy Butler!” the chants from the stands began as the Sixers were about to inbound the ball from midcourt. Moments later Butler, who had scored on a driving layup on the first possession, casually drained a 3-pointer, as the Wells Fargo Center erupted,
Music to his ears. “You could for sure hear them,” smiled Butler, finally emerging to the post-game podium nearly an hour after his 28 points and seven assists led the Sixers to a harder-than-it-should’ve been 113-107 victory. “Y’all have — or WE— have some great fans.
“It’s definitely an advantage. And y’all have probably have one of the catchiest things in that whole 1-2-3-4-5 Sixers deal (their theme song). “When I was on the away team I was always singing it. So I’m hyped.”
Just about everyone in the place was, as the 29-year-old Butler lived up to his billing. Not only did he knock down one clutch shot after another while shooting a blistering 12-for-15, he consistently found open teammates for hoops. Then for a finishing touch he put a defensive clamp on Utah’s dynamic Donovan Mitchell.
Afterwards Sixers coach Brett Brown, who has to figure out a way to get Butler, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to mesh together into a cohesive unit, says this latest “process” has only just begun. “It’s a whole new gift we have,” said Brown, whose 10-7 team remains unbeaten at home at 8-0, though their penchant for blowing big leads has to be alarming “I feel it’s about a quarter complete.
“We have 75 percent to learn and grow where we can really put him in some stuff. With the growth inclusion of Jimmy we’re going to have way more to lock down a game.”
As Brown indicated, clearly there is a learning curve here. At times Butler seemed to defer too much to his teammates, resulting in the Sixers either turning it over or having to taking hurried shots against the shot clock. At the same time Simmons, who’s used to having the ball in his hands most of the time, often seemed out of sorts.
But Embiid, who later revealed he was playing with a sore hand, which has bothered him off and on for nearly a year and hampered him in this one, says the Sixers Big Three are already comfortable together.
“I thought the chemistry was great against Orlando (a 111-106 loss where the Sixers blew a 92-76 fourth quarter lead), but tonight it was even better,” said Embiid, who scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds. “I’m sure in the future it will be even better.
“I just feel like the potential we have defensively is huge, so we have to start on that end.”
The finish, though, was mostly Butler, who started by driving towards the hoop then kicking it out to a wide open Embiid for a 3-pointer that tied it, 105-105. Then, after Simmons’ layup had put the Sixers up 109-107 lead, it was Butler making perfect eye contact with Simmons on an inbounds play, lobbing to him for an uncontested layup with just 19.4 seconds left. When Butler’s swarming defense led to an offensive foul on Utah’s Rudy Gobert and Embiid dropped two free throws, the Sixers and their new man could finally celebrate the “W.”
“It’s always great to win at home,” said the four-time all-star, who grabbed three rebounds and had two steals in 38 minutes. “ I knew there’d be a lot of energy in that building .
“It was great. I already knew this crowd would be really excited. They were always that way even when I was on the away team. Now that I’ve got them on my side it’s even better for me.”
Presumably for the Sixers, too, who have already begun the wooing/evaluation process to determine if Butler will be here for the long haul. So far everybody’s been on their best behavior and is saying the right things, hoping the issues Butler had in Minnesota that forced this deal don’t come into play here.
In time we’ll see if Philadelphia is his salvation or merely the latest stopover before he hits the free agent trail, where he could earn up to $190 million over the next five years.
For one night, though, everyone had to be thrilled. For a regular season game, it turned out to be quite a night, the buzz in the building reminiscent of when Iverson returned for his second stint with the Sixers in 2009. Or when Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant would come to town.
But as intrigued as they are by this new “Big Three” Sixers’ fans are also wary. They’ve been burned before, most memorably when they came out in droves to the Constitution Center to welcome the man who might lead them to the NBA’s “Promised Land” to town.
Only Andrew Bynum turned out to be a false prophet.
That doesn’t mean the same goes for Butler, who would not address the media before the game—technically a violation of NBA rules—but charmed them afterwards. Of course fans could care less what he has to say.
Their only interest is what he does on the court.
So mark this night down as a success, even though plenty of questions have yet to be answered. In time they will be. In time the Sixers will see if their new “Big Three” works and if the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
