Jimmy Butler clearly does not think that the deer is anything to be feared.
Butler and the Heat stole a huge victory against the Bucks in Milwaukee on Sunday, winning Game 1 of their first-round series by a 130-117 final score. It was Butler who led the way for Miami with a game-high 35 points and a team-high 11 assists.
Butler went to social media after the game and took a hilarious swipe at the Bucks. He posted an image to his Instagram Story of two very meek-looking deer, standing in the woods as if (dare we say it) … frozen in the headlights.
Here is a screenshot of Butler’s post.
There is plenty of history between these two teams. They met in the second round of the 2020 playoffs in the Orlando bubble (with the Heat pulling off the shocking upset of the top-seeded Bucks by winning in five games). But Milwaukee got their revenge the following season, sweeping Miami in the first round en route to winning the NBA title (with one Bucks star even firing shots at the Heat after the series was over).
This year’s meeting (where Milwaukee is once again a No. 1 seed) is a rubber match of sorts between these two sides. While the Heat earned themselves a significant leg up by stealing away homecourt advantage in the early going, injuries will go a long way towards determining the ultimate outcome. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo exited Game 1 early after falling onto his back (with the team issuing a postgame update on his status). Meanwhile, Heat guard Tyler Herro suffered a rough injury of his own right before halftime.