The Miami Heat were a +200 underdog in game one of the Eastern Conference semifinals, so if you jumped on those odds, congratulations. Nice win to start off the series.

Miami took out the Bucks 115-104 on the strength of a great defensive effort, 92% free throw shooting, and a 40-piece from Jimmy Butler, who shot 13-20 on the evening and hit 12 of 13 from the stripe in a smooth 36 minutes of play.

That resulted in Joel Embiid triggering Sixers fans when he took to Twitter to say the following:

“If….” only the Sixers have ended up keeping Butler, things might be different now. That’s what Embiid is saying.

It’s no secret that Butler and Embiid really enjoyed playing with each other in Philadelphia. There were some cryptic social media posts throughout this season, but Embiid confirmed what we already knew when he went on JJ Redick’s podcast recently and said this about the Sixers’ offseason moves:

“This year, it was different. Defensively we were pretty good – big, fast, and we can switch a lot. But offensively, it just wasn’t that. We had our offense, but at times it was not the right offense. The offense of the past 4-5 years wasn’t the offense for this team. It was completely different. You don’t have a JJ Redick, or Jimmy Butler, who can go through pick and rolls. But I think we’re getting it. The last month in the bubble helped a lot. I think we’ve come closer, and I won’t lie, during the season I was not there, I just wasn’t comfortable. The offense wasn’t the same and the basketball wasn’t the same to me. The way things happened last summer (with Redick/Butler departures) it was so frustrating. I was kind of mad at the whole world and ‘uh whatever,’ like I’m coming into my work and will do my best, but I wasn’t playing up to my standards.”

It was all mutual. Butler said earlier this season that he and Embiid are constantly texting, calling, and Facetiming each other, explaining that he thinks Joel is a “special” player.

Butler hit it off with Embiid, but didn’t have the same relationship with Ben Simmons and Brett Brown. Now the Sixers find themselves swept out of the first round and Butler is dropping 40 on the Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He’s averaging a career-high 23.8 PPG in these playoffs.

(of course Butler could have helped everybody by not firing up that airball in one of the final possessions of game seven against the Raptors)