🏀 Can anyone stop Jimmy Butler and the Heat?

Jimmy Butler has helped transform the Heat into one of the favorites to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: Jimmy Butler’s ferocity and fire has helped lift the Miami Heat to a new level ... we take a look at how Denver built a team that rocked the Western Conference ... and our team at FOX Sports put together an outstanding video, highlighting the most expensive baseball cards ever sold. Jimmy Butler became Jimmy Buckets more than seven years ago, but it is time for a new nickname. Welcome to Jimmy Bubble. Because no one is living their best bubble life … quite like Jimmy. Butler came into the restarted NBA enclave as the leading figure on an afterthought of a team that no one thought could get very far. The thought was that Butler and the Miami Heat would stick around into the postseason, have a quick cup of coffee and be on their way. Now, with 18 teams having made their exit from Orlando, he is brewing up a concoction of the following: riding a wave of truly elite performance, creating a surprising sideline of entrepreneurial excellence, reveling in climb-on-my-back team leadership and, simply, having a whole lot of fun. If you’ve noticed the clumsy coffee references, there is a reason for that. As you’ve probably heard, Butler launched an impromptu coffee pitstop from his Disney World hotel room, dubbing it “Big Face Coffee” and somewhat scandalously charging his cash-heavy fellow players $20 per cup. [STORY IMAGE 1] “I’m working on my coffee skills,” Butler told ESPN. “After my career I am opening my coffee shop. I got everything. Small, medium and large - all of it is 20 dollars a cup. You can’t get coffee nowhere here so I might bump it up to 30 bucks a cup, it just depends. People here can afford it so I don’t hear no complaining.” And wouldn’t you know it, as of Friday, the Big Face brand had evolved into a legitimate business, with a corporate trademark and various legal protections. It has its own themed clothing sported by Butler on his walk into games, and possibly a booming future in caffeinating members of the public. Basically, everything Butler touches right now turns to … golden roast. ... and he’s not the kind of guy to see an opportunity and let it float away. [STORY IMAGE 2] “What Jimmy Butler has done in Miami this season is nothing short of spectacular,” FOX Sports NBA analyst Chris Broussard told me via text message. “His display of leadership, toughness, and selflessness is becoming not only one of the most inspiring and redemptive stories of the season, but of the past few years.” From nowhere, Butler has turned the Heat into one of the favorites to lift the title as they now hold a 2-0 lead over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. He’s doing it with his talent and with some truly excellent supporting pieces. Bam Adebayo might be the best “little” big man in the league. He helped lead Miami to a Game 1 victory with a spectacular late block. Goran Dragic continues to prove there are few who can effectively stop him when the mood takes, and the unheralded Duncan Robinson, whose pre-NBA career included a stop at Div-III Williams College, has emerged as a sharpshooter beyond compare. [STORY IMAGE 3] What lifts the group to a new level though is Butler’s ferocity and fire, his total belief in what he is doing and a refusal to see this group as underdogs. In truth, they were – but they are no longer. FOX Bet now has the Heat listed at +350 to win it all, the second best odds behind only the Los Angeles Lakers. “We believe in one another,” Butler told reporters. “We know what we're capable of. We get down at times but we never hang our heads because we know if we play the right way, we give ourselves a chance to win. With this group of guys, it's always smiles out there on the court.” [STORY IMAGE 4] Do you remember when Butler was seen as an agitator without a cause, and possibly more trouble than he was worth? His time with the Minnesota Timberwolves was fraught with antagonism, including Butler railing at teammates Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, and, in one famous incident, leading the reserves to a practice win over the rest of the starters before exiting the facility. After a year in Philadelphia, there were those who thought that in Miami, things may turn sour quicker than a quart of half-and-half left out for too long. They haven’t. In fact, they’ve only gotten better and the fifth-seed in the weaker of the NBA’s two conferences now looks as dangerous as anyone and has its eyes on the title. Okay, we’re done with the coffee clichés now. This is a sports column about a player who is on the cusp of masterminding one of the great postseason runs. He’s fired up and focused and he believes nothing can stop him. He’s loving life. His cup is full. Oh, oops …. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Vincent Goodwill, Yahoo Sports: “(Jimmy) Butler has been on this end of a 2-0 lead against the Celtics before, in 2017, when his Chicago Bulls were halfway to a No. 1 seed vs. No. 8 seed upset before the Celtics responded to win the next four games. Expecting him to take a step back and breathe a sigh of relief isn’t expected, especially when he’s armed with the same information the rest of the world knows: The East isn’t getting any easier in the future, so applying the grip now could be the most likely opportunity to sneak one in.” Michael Rosenberg, Sports Illustrated: “(Jimmy) Butler is the NBA’s ultimate worker, the rare superstar who isn’t just tough, but became a superstar because of how tough he is. Some players get knocked down in the first quarter and won’t enter the paint again. Butler just drives harder to the bucket the next time.” Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat Head Coach: “We are not going to sit up here and try to educate everybody on what winning basketball is, that was winning basketball tonight from Jimmy Butler. It's not about the final line. Jimmy did so many things in that second half that impacted winning on both ends of the floor. Either the average fan sees it or they don't, but we don't care.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - When their respective openers were canceled, Baylor and Houston managed to do in one weekend what typically is scheduled years in advance. [Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger]( details how Baylor and Houston got a game scheduled in 18 hours, a week before kickoff. - To understand how the Los Angeles Lakers turned into a drama-free, NBA title contender, you have to go back to the connection and pledge LeBron James and Jeanie Buss made to each other back in March 2019. [ESPN senior writer Ramona Shelburne]( takes us inside the secret dinner that set LeBron’s Lakers on course. - While the Lakers loaded up on superstars, the Nuggets took a different path to the Western Conference Finals. [The Ringer’s Rob Mahoney]( describes how Denver built the team that rocked the West. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Sports card sales have been booming over the past couple of months as people remain in quarantine. Our team at FOX Sports put together this outstanding video piece, which highlights the 10 most expensive cards ever sold. Honus Wager’s T206 card has been one of the most valuable cards of all time, selling for $3.1 million. However, a 2009 Mike Trout Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Superfractor Autograph card recently sold for $3.9 million, taking over the top spot on the list. Big props to the Fox Sports production team for putting this together. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Friday Night SmackDown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and his cousin Jey Uso take on Sheamus and Baron Corbin in a tag team match on SmackDown. Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers (TNT, 9 p.m. ET) Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets take on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Houston at Baylor (Saturday, FOX, 12 p.m. ET) Charlie Brewer and the Baylor Bears kick off their 2020 season with a matchup against Houston at McLane Stadium. Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday, FOX, 1 p.m. ET) Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams travel to Philadelphia to take on Carson Wentz and the Eagles. Atlanta Falcons at Dallas Cowboys (Sunday, FOX, 1 p.m. ET) Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are looking to bounce back after a Week 1 loss when they host Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons at AT&T Stadium. Washington Football Team at Arizona Cardinals (Sunday, FOX, 4:05 p.m. ET) Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals host Chase Young and the Washington Football Team. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by FOX Bet San Francisco 49ers at New York Jets: 49ers -7 The San Francisco 49ers enter Week 2 looking to bounce back following a season-opening loss to Arizona. The Jets, on the other hand, are looking for any positive signs following a Week 1 loss to the Bills, in which they lost Le’Veon Bell to injury. They will also be without leading receiver Jamison Crowder, who injured his hamstring in practice this week. Look for the 49ers to get their running game going in this one and come out of New York with a victory. Taking Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers at -7 sure seems like a solid play. 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