A look at Jimmy Butler’s leadership style and what makes it unique. Also, Heat in the zone
Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler does things his own way. He even leads his own way.
“Different,” Heat All-Star center Bam Adebayo said when asked to describe Butler’s leadership style. “Just because he leads in a different way than normal people think he would. It’s hard to explain. So, yeah. I would just say different.”
Fiery and vocal on the court, Butler takes a more even-keeled approach off the court. Through the ups and downs of a long season, Butler tries to remain consistent.
Butler will play music in the locker room whether the Heats wins or loses, he tries to keep a smile on his face no matter the result and he’s not the type of leader who’s going to lead a passionate pregame speech.
“We’re all grown men, we’re all pros and everybody knows what everybody is capable of,” Butler said back in March. “I don’t think that you need to pat anybody on the back. I’m not the pat-you-on-the-back type anyways.”
Facing Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals in Boston on Monday night after a crushing Game 6 loss in Miami, Butler again tried to calm his teammates while infusing confidence in them during his postgame media session on Saturday.
“I’m going to smile. I’m going to go home and play some spades,” Butler said after the Heat lost Game 6 on a buzzer-beating tip-in by Boston Celtics guard Derrick White. “I don’t care what nobody say. Everything is going to be OK.”
Teammate Duncan Robinson called Butler “a calming presence.”
“Experience will do that, the work that he puts in will do that just in the sense that he knows that he’s prepared for moments,” Robinson said. “But he couples that with a fiery competitive spirit, as well, once you see him between the lines. Definitely a unique individual on how he goes about it. But we’re happy he’s with us.”
Butler, 33, has not been described as “calming” by many during his NBA career, but he’s known around the league as one of the most unique personalities in the sport. Butler is under contract with the Heat through the 2025-26 season when he’ll be 36 years old.
“Jimmy leads with everything — his spirit, his soul, his competitive nature,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s all out there on his sleeves. That’s what we love about him.
“I mentioned to him, when I first met him, and then in the subsequent years after that, he never has to apologize, ever, for who he is and what he is about. It’s the same language as us, and that’s why we’re all following him.”
THE ZONE
After setting a new modern-day NBA record for the most zone possessions played in a regular season this season, the Heat has brought out zone at times during the East finals and it has been effective.
The Heat turned to zone during its fourth-quarter comeback that fell just short in Saturday’s Game 6 loss. The Celtics scored just two points on the seven possessions of zone the Heat used in the fourth quarter, according to Synergy Sports.
It’s a continuation of the scheme’s success in the series. Boston entered Game 7 with just 0.85 points scored per possession against Miami’s zone defense compared to 1.07 points scored per possession against Miami’s man defense in half-court situations during the East finals.
“It really isn’t about schematics,” Spoelstra said downplaying the success of the Heat’s zone defense. “It’s more of a mindset about doing tough things. It really doesn’t matter. I know it sounds like semantics. It’s just a different language.
“If you’re dealing with somebody like [Jayson] Tatum or [Jaylen] Brown, they are going to put pressure on you, on your defense. There’s no one thing that’s going to get it done. You have to do a bunch of tough things, and the quicker you can wrap your mind around that, you know, you’ve got a better chance of staying stable even as they are making some shots. You just have to try to make it as tough as possible.”
Of the Heat’s unique ability to seamlessly toggle between different defensive schemes like man and zone during the course of a game, forward Caleb Martin said: “It’s a big advantage for us. Not every team has to deal with that. I think we’re kind of unique in that sense to where we can switch it up really randomly and still having someone like [Kevin] Love and Cody [Zeller] to the mix, too, who know how to do that. It just kind of fell in line with that naturally. They’re really smart players, high IQ so they just know what they’re doing. That’s part of the experience, too.”
INJURY REPORT
The Heat remains without guards Tyler Herro (right hand surgery) and Victor Oladipo (left knee surgery) for Game 7 against the Celtics at TD Garden on Monday.
Gabe Vincent is listed as questionable for the Heat with a sprained left ankle that forced him to miss Game 5 of the East finals. But Vincent returned to play in Game 6 on Saturday.
The Celtics’ only rotation player on the injury report is Malcolm Brogdon, who was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year this season. Brogdon, who missed Game 6 with a right forearm strain, is listed as questionable for Game 7.
This story was originally published May 29, 2023 at 10:47 AM.
