Without Jimmy Butler, new-look Heat uses youth to begin season with win over Grizzlies
The Jimmy Butler era began ... without Jimmy Butler.
Butler, the Miami Heat’s prized offseason acquisition, was not at AmericanAirlines Arena for Wednesday’s opener because of personal reasons.
But Butler’s absence didn’t stop the Heat from beginning what felt like a new chapter — and it wasn’t just because Dwyane Wade is now retired — with a 120-101 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. The win snapped Miami’s two-game losing steak on opening night.
“We had a run with that team for three years, just like we did with the Big 3 era when we had a run for four years, before that about a two-year run with that team my first two years,” coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game, referring to the Heat’s three-year run with center Hassan Whiteside as its highest-paid player. “This just feels like a natural turning of the page to a new team and a new opportunity, even though there are some carryovers.
“I get excited every opening day. We felt that in preseason, maybe even a little bit more this preseason than the last couple years just because it felt new and it felt like a different opportunity.”
With offseason acquisition Meyers Leonard and two rookies — first-round pick Tyler Herro and undrafted free-agent signing Kendrick Nunn — in the starting lineup, the Heat’s new look was on display even without Butler available.
The average age of the Heat’s opening-night starting lineup (Bam Adebayo, Justise Winslow, Leonard, Herro and Nunn) was 23 years old, and the 19-year-old Herro is the youngest player to start a game for the Heat in franchise history.
The youth was evident, in a bad way, to start the game. Miami committed 12 turnovers and 17 fouls in a sloppy first half, and the result was a 60-54 Grizzlies lead after two quarters.
But a strong fourth quarter was enough for the Heat to get the win against a young Grizzlies roster that also was sloppy Wednesday with 24 turnovers and 31 fouls. Fueled by a 24-1 run, Miami outscored Memphis in the final period 37-17.
The Heat shot 62.5 percent in the fourth quarter and limited the Grizzlies to 30 percent shooting in the final period.
“The game can go either way, but the fourth-quarter is winning time,” said Nunn, who scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter of his first NBA game. “We came together as a group in the huddle and said, ‘Let’s win this game.’ It doesn’t matter if it’s the first game. We’re going to play as hard as we can every night.”
Winslow led the Heat with 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting, seven rebounds and seven assists, marking the first time he has ever finished a single game with more than 25 points, five rebounds and five assists. He scored 11 in the fourth quarter.
“Justise is a great competitor,” Spoelstra said. “It’s time to make winning basketball plays, he’s always been able to do that. Tonight he was a little bit more assertive looking at the basket, but he was doing it within the confines of what we wanted.”
Without Butler, the Heat used a balanced offensive attack to open the season. Five Miami players finished with double-digit points.
Herro contributed 14 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes, Dragic recorded 19 points in 25 minutes off the bench, and Adebayo scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 24 minutes.
Center Chris Silva, who is on a two-way contract and expected to spend most of the season in the G League, was a contributor down the stretch. He finished with eight points, six rebounds and three blocks in 11 minutes, with all of that production coming in the fourth quarter.
The Heat’s offense still struggled and looked disjointed at times, bringing back memories from last season when Miami finished below average in almost every offensive category — 26th in points (105.7), 22nd in shooting percentage (45), 21st in three-point shooting percentage (34.9), 30th in free-throw percentage (69.5), 23rd in turnovers (14.7) and 26th in offensive rating (106.7 points per 100 possessions).
Aside from an impressive fourth quarter, the Heat made just 41 percent of its shots with 16 turnovers over the first three quarters.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, who was the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, finished with 14 points and four assists. He also committed six turnovers.
It isn’t exactly like the Heat began with an entirely new team this season, though. Adebayo, Dragic, Winslow, Kelly Olynyk and Derrick Jones Jr. were part of last season’s core and played for the Heat on Wednesday.
“I think today was good for us, kind of in a way, not to have him,” Winslow said of playing without Butler. “Guys can get comfortable, guys can get a couple extra shots up, but I’m excited. We’re going to need Jimmy, not to take anything away from him. We’re going to need him for sure.”
Along with Butler, the Heat began the season without guard Dion Waiters (suspension), and forwards James Johnson (conditioning) and Udonis Haslem (wrist).
Waiters’ one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team is set to end Thursday. His status with the team beyond that is still unknown.
Next up for the Heat is a quick two-game trip that begins Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks and concludes Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Wednesday was a step in the right direction, but Spoelstra made clear he’s still learning about his roster.
“To be honest, I don’t even fully know this team right now, so it all feels kind of new,” Spoelstra said. “Even when Jimmy is there, when he’s here, I feel like this is a new team and trying to get used to the rotation and used to the guys. The same thing tonight. It’s not like seven years ago when I knew exactly who I was putting in when. Like with Ray [Allen], I knew when Ray was going in. I knew when Ray was coming out. I’m still learning that with this group.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2019 at 10:19 PM.
