A look at how Jimmy Butler has helped the Heat since returning, and some encouraging trends
The Miami Heat is a better team when five-time All-Star Jimmy Butler is on the court.
That obvious statement has been confirmed during the first seven weeks of the season, with the Heat posting a 3-9 record in the games Butler has missed and a 6-5 record in the games he has played in. Even as Miami entered Monday with the fourth-worst record in the Eastern Conference and the fifth-worst record in the NBA at 9-14, Butler has been a net positive.
“When you look at their numbers when Jimmy plays versus when he doesn’t play, it’s two different teams,” New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said before Sunday’s game against the Heat. “So I think now that they’ve gotten healthier, they’re playing at a pretty high level.”
Just a few hours later, Butler went out and helped push the Heat to a 109-103 win over the Knicks on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. Miami outscored New York by a team-best 11 points in the 34 minutes Butler played, but was outscored 31-26 in the 14 minutes Butler did not play.
It wasn’t Butler’s best performance, as he shot 3 of 11 from the field in Sunday’s win. But he still managed to score eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter with the help of 11-of-12 shooting from the foul line in the game, and also finished with 10 rebounds and nine assists.
“I think Jimmy is one of the most unique competitors in this league because as he gets to a 10 competitively, emotionally, passionately, he’s able to remain so incredibly stable mentally that he can read the game and what’s necessary for that possession,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, with the Heat taking on the Knicks again Tuesday but this time at AmericanAirlines Arena (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Sun). “It doesn’t have to just be about him scoring. He made some big defensive plays.
“When you have a guy that you can just give the ball to on the other end and you know that you’re going to get a coherent possession offensively, it just takes a lot of pressure off your basketball team mentally.”
Butler has only played in 11 of the Heat’s first 23 games. He missed 10 games because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and he missed another two games earlier in the season because of a sprained ankle.
Since Butler returned from his 10-game absence, the Heat’s play has begun trending in the right direction after starting the season at 6-12. Miami is 3-2 in the five games Butler has played in since returning from protocols last week and has outscored opponents by 4.9 points per 100 possessions during this stretch.
“He’s one of the leaders, man,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said of Butler. “So he does what every max player does. He figures it out. If he’s not scoring, he’s making plays for other people, he’s rebounding, he’s doing all the little stuff. Getting us easy free throws by being aggressive in the bonus. So he’s just one of those intelligent players. ... Just the small stuff that makes a big difference.”
Butler’s impact has especially been felt on the offensive end, with the Heat scoring 113 points per 100 possessions in the past five games. Before Butler returned from protocols, Miami was scoring just 105.1 points per 100 possessions in the first 18 games of the season.
More offensive numbers from the past five games since Butler returned: The Heat has scored 111.4 points per game on 47 percent shooting from the field and 38.4 percent shooting on threes while generating 18 points per game from the foul line. Miami has also averaged just 15.4 turnovers per game after struggling with turnover issues in the first month of the season.
Those numbers are very close to the ones that last season’s impressive Heat offense produced: 112 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting from the field and 37.9 percent shooting on threes while scoring 19.7 points at the free-throw line and committing 14.9 turnovers. Miami also finished last regular season with the league’s seventh-best offensive rating with 111.9 points scored per 100 possessions.
“Our offense has been trending, since Jimmy has been back, it has been trending in the right way,” Spoelstra said. “You see a lot more familiar possessions where there’s ball movement, more guys involved, our driving and attacking game is much more consistent and guys feel a little bit more comfortable with what’s expected of them.”
Butler’s scoring obviously helps, as he has averaged a team-high 21 points in the past five games. But how Butler is getting those points during this stretch is also worth noting, with 11.4 coming from the foul line and 26 of his 29 made field goals coming from inside the paint.
Butler’s ability to get to the rim and draw fouls usually attracts multiple defenders his way whenever he has the ball and is on the move, helping to create more space for the Heat’s shooters and Adebayo. Butler has averaged eight assists in the past five games, with 19 of his 40 assists in that span leading to threes and another nine assists ending in an Adebayo basket.
This recent uptick is important for Miami because offense is such a big part of its winning formula since it does not have a statistically elite defense. The Heat is 7-2 this season when it finishes with a single-game offensive rating of 114 or better.
“He just has the ball in his hands a lot and he’s able to make plays for himself and for others,” Heat second-year guard Tyler Herro said of Butler. “I think he just settles everything down. If we need to get a basket or if we need to just slow things down and run something to get a good look, I think he’s able to do that. I think everyone sees how well the offense flows when he’s in the game.”
The next step for this season’s Heat team is finding a way to survive the minutes that Butler is not on the court. While Miami has outscored opponents by a team-best 5.7 points per 100 possessions when Butler is playing this season, it has been outscored by 7.1 points per 100 possessions when he’s not playing.
For now, Butler is just happy the Heat is winning games again as it works to move up the standings.
“I think the ball is moving, everybody is getting in the right places, everybody knows where the ball is supposed to go,” Butler said. “That’s the start, so we’re headed in the right direction.”
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 9:19 AM.
