MIAMI – Jimmy Butler has been here before. It’s just that it’s been so long that it’s all but forgotten.
On April 1, 2015, while still with the Chicago Bulls, Butler scored 3 points in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. In the next game, he hit two more. And I continued.
By the time the Bulls’ playoff run ended in the second round against LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers, Butler had gone 19 straight games with at least one conversion from beyond the arc.
So, yeah, while this 14-game streak of at least one 3-pointer is technically the longest streak of Butler’s career, since that other one bled into the playoffs, it’s also not necessarily a new terrain innovated by the Miami Heat attacker.
Just a blast from the past.
“If I wanted to shoot all three, I could. And I think I would shoot a really good percentage,” Butler said, with the Heat then turning their attention to Tuesday night visit from the Detroit Pistons at the Kaseya center at the end of this ttwo-game homestand. “I just like throwing it in the paint, meeting people and seeing who goes down first.
“When I attack, I think we are our best. I can involve my shooters. I can involve my teammates. And I can get it first and be a playmaker.”
But something curious is happening now. As Butler continues to rekindle his previous success from beyond the arc, opponents are biting even the most innocuous fake 3-pointers. And once they’re done, Butler is on the brink.
What if they don’t close?
“It’s like it’s a little Pop-A-Shot for him,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, with most of Butler’s recent 3-point conversions coming off-guard, with plenty of time to set and to pull.
During the current 14-game streak with at least one 3-point conversion, Butler is shooting .561 on 3-pointers (23 of 41). For comparison, he’s .329 from beyond the arc for his career, shot .350 on 3-pointers last season, and in his five seasons with the Heat, even with the rise in that season, he is at .300.
So yes, this looks like something decidedly different.
“It’s been a normal progression for him,” Spoelstra said earlier this season, “and a normal progression as a big player, that now teams are really challenging him to shoot that, to do everything they have to do to try to keep him out of the paint and keep him out of the free throw line.
“If you just allow him to shoot that little three-touch shot, he’s extremely accurate with that shot, and I think it’s the right shot for our team. And until the scouting reports change, yes, we all encourage him to accept that.
Scouting reports still emphasize the need to keep the 34-year-old veteran off the line. But even with an increase of 2.3 3-point attempts per game this season, his highest average in his five seasons with the Heat, there are still 8.3 free throw attempts per game, tied with his average of 8.4 during his tenure with the Heat.
In fact, over the last four games, there have been 41 attempts from the line.
The three therefore became addition without subtraction.
“He knows how I feel,” Spoelstra said. “If I say too much, then he is the ultimate non-conformist. He’s an excellent shooter. Why not?
“Put him in the 3-point contest next year. Just allow him to take that shot. I’ll bet on him. Do I have the right to do this?
Well, uh. . .
“Don’t put him in the 3-point competition,” Spoelstra added with a smile.
The fact is that Jimmy Butler has long since added this element to his post-season repertoire, when defenses are even more suited to his offensive game, averaging 3.5 3-point attempts in the playoffs. from last season to the NBA Finals. It’s similar to the approach Dwyane Wade took with the 3-point basket in the playoffs during the latter stages of his Heat career.
So, in a way, Butler’s current streak is just a glimpse. . . and a warning shot
“He keeps teams honest,” Spoelstra said.
