After losing two key starters from their NBA Finals team and replacing those minutes with another assortment of rookies and castoffs, the expectation for any other team in the league would be to take a step back.
But this is the Miami Heat we’re talking about, and they always find a way. The first half of their season consisted of adjusting to new personnel and injuries – their 31 starting lineup what they’ve tried is more than the Celtics and Bucks have combined for this season.
Throughout this turmoil, they have improved compared to last year. Their 35-29 record is an improvement over last season’s 33-31 record at this same point. And they’ve proven over the years that playoff seeding doesn’t matter to them. They will find a way to make some noise in the playoffs. Last season, they became the first No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals since 1999.
“8th, 7th, 6th, 5-4-3-2-1, I don’t care. We don’t care,” Butler told Brady Hawk from Five Reasons Sports earlier this month.
They currently sit in eighth place in the East, with a chance to reach fourth place by the end of the season. Given their 11-6 record since January 31 and their second simplest schedule force remaining, it is a possibility.
What’s even scarier for the rest of the league is that after a somewhat mixed start to the season, Jimmy Butler is starting to heat up again. Playoff Jimmy should strike fear into every team in the league. At 34 years old, here’s how he still maintains his status as one of the best players in the league.
MORE: Updated Rankings and Brackets for the 2024 NBA Playoffs
Jimmy Butler is still at his offensive peak
The three-point shot has never been a big part of Butler’s game. As a freshman at Marquette, he only attempted (and missed) four 3s all year. He’s had a few seasons in the NBA where he’s been a good shooter, but he’d hit just 26.6 percent of his 3s in a Heat uniform entering this season.
That shooting weakness is what makes his 42.5 percent from 3 this year so astonishing. Butler gave a explanation to journalists on the sudden improvement.
“If I wanted to shoot the three, I could, and I think I would shoot a really good percentage.” I just like running around in the paint and passing people, seeing who’s going to fall first.
Butler also maintains this physical advantage. His 8.1 free throw attempts per game rank fifth in the league, and he is 13th in drives per game. There is perhaps no other player as good at intimidating his favorite spots on the pitch. He used this ability to land decisive shots year after year, including this one when he made a jump back winner against the Bulls.
Jimmy Butler and the Heat strengthen the defense
The Heat have always been a pesky defensive team, but they were looking to start the season. After giving up 118 points to the Suns on January 29, Butler confessed to journalists that “we do not keep”. The Heat found themselves sitting at 13 in the championship in defense.
It was a turning point for the Heat and for Butler individually. Since Butler’s brutally honest assessment, they have been the no. 3 defense in the league. There was no major change in scheme or personnel to cause this increase. Rather, it is the result of the team simply locking out. Their zone looks sharp, they made a better effort and Erik Spoelstra is always going to find ways to take a different look at teams.
Butler also significantly reduced defensive pressure at the point of attack.
Jimmy Butler is a threat. pic.twitter.com/xbueGxcY4K
– Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) March 6, 2024
Butler made an All-Defensive team five times in his career. He can’t really bring in every possession anymore. But when matches get close, he remains an advocate of containment.
Jimmy Butler is getting more help than ever
This isn’t the most talented team Butler has played on. But it is perhaps the most balanced.
Butler’s 24.7 percent usage is the lowest ever in a Heat uniform. He’s still the driving force behind a lot of things the team runs, but Bam Adebayo is doing more handoffs, Jaime Jaquez is creating more in the post, and there are more ball passes to their shooters,
The Heat have eight players averaging at least eight shot attempts per game. For comparison, Boston and Denver only have five players who reach that mark. No other team has as many contributors coming from within their system.
It took Miami a while to find an identity. Now that they’ve figured out what works, they’ll use what they’ve learned to become one of the most dangerous teams in the league in the playoffs.
“You just keep a few things in your pocket all year round,” Butler said Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report earlier this year. “Now you can’t show your opponent everything. You always have to keep people guessing.”
Don’t let their rankings fool you. This is a solid team with the best coach in the league, an All-NBA player in Butler and a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Adebayo. They have shown time and time again that it would be a mistake to exclude them. This year should be no different.
