The final preseason game between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat was highlighted by an intense personal battle featuring Dennis Schroder and Jimmy Butler.
Thing got off to a chippy start from the jump, as seen in the first quarter when Butler brutally bullied Schroder down low – only for the latter to get called for a blocking foul.
Bully Butler pic.twitter.com/EjbQJLsNWt
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 15, 2021
The rivalry would eventually kick into overdrive later in the game on this particular sequence:
Schroder tries to trip Jimmy Butler pic.twitter.com/mVnhMMD39O
— Misha Konygin (@gdfactoryclips) October 16, 2021
In the lead-up to Schroder trying to trip Butler, the latter quite clearly stepped on his foot in a way that didn’t look accidental.
That said, it’s difficult to injure someone else by stepping on their foot. Tripping your opponent, however, can lead to serious issues.
Schroder obviously doesn’t care about public perception, so online backlash from this incident likely won’t impact him too much going forward.
It will be interesting to see if the NBA ultimately reacts to this. It will certainly add a little drama to future matchups between the teams.
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