Taj Gibson is not surprised by the impact his longtime teammate Jimmy Butler has had on the Heat this season.
Miami comes into the Garden for a Sunday matinee as one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference, trailing only Milwaukee in the standings with a 27-11 record.
Butler, the four-time All-Star acquired in a sign-and-trade with Philadelphia on a four-year max contract ($142 million) in July, leads the Heat in scoring (20.6 points per game), assists (6.5) and steals (2.0).
“He’s always been capable of having break-out years,” said Gibson, a teammate with the Bulls from 2011-17 and with Minnesota from 2017-19.