Philadelphia 76ers Player of the Week: Jimmy Butler is clutch

Philadelphia 76ers wing Jimmy Butler has found his role as a fourth quarter closer for the franchise during this past week.

It’s clear that during this past week, Jimmy Butler has finally figured out his role as the Philadelphia 76ers closer in the fourth quarter of games. This role for him has allowed him to maximize skills and has yielded positive results.

The first of the two signature wins that the Sixers got this past week came against the Milwaukee Bucks. Butler finished the game with 27 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals, two turnovers and five fouls while making 50.0 percent on 16 field goal attempts, both of his 3-pointers, and 9-13 free throw attempts. He was the team’s second leading scorer and had 14 of his 27 points come in the fourth quarter.

Despite being without their All-Star center, the Sixers were still able to squeeze out a victory against the Charlotte Hornets. Butler ended the contest with 23 points, four rebounds, nine assists, two steals, one block, two turnovers and three fouls, while converting 8-19 of his shots, 25.0 percent of his four shots from behind the arc and all six of his shots from the charity stripe. He was the team’s third leading scorer and seven of 23 points in the last quarter of the game.

Winning against the Boston Celtics was the biggest victory for the Sixers this past week. Butler won the game for the Sixers on a clutch bucket.

Beyond having the game winner, Butler ended the contest with 22 points, four rebounds, two assists and two fouls, while shooting 7-17 from the floor, 33.3 percent on nine 3-pointers, and100.0 percent on his five free throws. He had 15 of his 22 points in the fourth and was yet again the team’s second leading scorer for the game.

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In the disappointing loss of the week against the Atlanta Hawks, Butler put the team in a position to win the game with late game free throws, before Trae Young hit the game winner for the Hawks. Butler recorded 25 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block and one turnover, while making 6-13 shots from the field and all 13 of his foul shots. He had eight points in the final quarter and was the team’s second leading scorer for the third time this past week.

Honorable mention

If Joel Embiid had not sat out against the Hornets for rest, there’s a really good chance that he’d be the player of the week. He forced Giannis Antetokounmpo to become a jump shooter and carried the offense against the Bucks and Celtics. For the week he averaged 34.7 points, 16.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.7 blocks, 2.7 turnovers and 2.7 fouls.

It’s clear that Butler has figured out his role as the Philadelphia 76ers closer and has stepped up his scoring output as well. He averaged 24.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.0 steal, 0.5 blocks, 1.3 turnovers and 2.5 fouls for the four games this past week. This is the role the Sixers need him to embrace if they want a shot at a NBA championship.