Jimmy 'My name isn't James' Butler carries 76ers to playoff win
Welcome to the Tuesday edition of The Cooler, where you can call me Mike or Michael. Let's get to it:
*Jimmy Butler was the best player on the floor by far for a normally balanced 76ers squad Monday as they evened their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Raptors by taking a 94-89 victory in Toronto.
Butler had 30 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, while no other teammate topped 13 points. Three Raptors had at least 20, including 35 from Kawhi Leonard. So Butler was basically the reason Philadelphia prevailed.
Head coach Brett Brown said as much after the game, saying Butler was the "adult in the gym" and attempting to compliment him by saying that he was "James Butler" instead of Jimmy. The only problem with that? Butler's name, literally, is Jimmy. He's not James. And Butler felt compelled to correct his coach with that information when it was his turn to talk postgame. Maybe James could be an unofficial nickname? It's a lot better, after all, than General Soreness. And being called the adult in the gym is certainly better than his toddler routine with the Wolves.
*As noted by Phil Miller, Ehire Adrianza only has 12 career home runs, but his blast off of Justin Verlander on Monday — the only run in a 1-0 Twins win — continued a trend of impressive quality if not quantity from those dingers.
Adrianza added Verlander to a list that includes Yankees great Andy Pettitte (Adrianza's first career homer in 2013), Clayton Kershaw (his second career homer), 2018 Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Cleveland standout Mike Clevinger. Here's the full list of guys Adrianza has taken deep.
*Jake Odorizzi, meanwhile, beat Houston for the second time in a seven-day span. He's allowed just two runs over 12.2 innings against a potent Astros lineup this season.
*It sounds like Clay Matthews isn't thrilled that draft pick Rashan Gary was given No. 52 — the jersey Matthews wore for a decade with the Packers before moving onto the Rams this season. In response to seeing a tweet with Gary pictured in that number, Matthews quipped: