Jimmy Butler is evening the playoff field for the Miami Heat
The Miami Heat's tone-setter has been the best player in the NBA playoffs.
At one point late in the fourth quarter, the game already decided, Jimmy Butler had to rub it in a little more.
Trae Young, who has been scrambling for answers all series, attempted a bounce pass through Tyler Herro’s legs. But Butler saw it coming. The Miami Heat’s leading scorer and tone-setter came streaking into the passing lane, tapped the ball to himself with his left hand and punctuated the play with a two-handed dunk that extended Miami’s lead to 22 en route to Sunday’s 110-86 win in Atlanta. The Hawks called a timeout and, as Butler walked off the court, he wagged his index finger side to side as if to say No, no, no, Atlanta. Timeout or not, this one is over.
“We have some gnarly competitors in our locker room,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.
No one is so gnarly as Butler. Not only has he been — by far — the best player in this series, but an argument can also be made that he’s been the best player in the NBA’s postseason. Better than Jayson Tatum, Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
As of Monday morning, Butler’s averages of 30.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals are up from his All-NBA level regular season. He is second in the playoffs in points per game behind only Denver’s Nikola Jokic (31.3). Unlike Jokic, Butler’s team is up 3-1 and has a chance to advance Tuesday when the series returns to Miami. Butler’s plus-minus of plus-14.8 is better than Tatum, Curry and Joel Embiid. His field goal percentage of 54.3 is better than that of Giannis (53.4) and his defense is a big reason why the Heat have neutered the Hawks’ vaunted offense.
But, more importantly, Butler is playing at the level the Heat will need to make a run at the Finals. Far in the rearview mirror is Miami’s infamous sideline quarrel between Butler and Spoelstra — the result of which was a revamped rotation designed to put Butler in space, a six-game winning streak to end the season and a team playing with confidence in the first round of the playoffs.
It’s clear now that both Butler and Spoelstra are on the same page, and rather than instigating his teammates into a painfully public tizzy, Butler is orchestrating the Heat’s controlled chaos. Even his cool finger wag was evidence of restrained aggression.
“In these settings on the road I think he’s extremely underrated because he’s very steady under the pressure,” Spoelstra said of Butler, who paced the Heat with 36 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals in Sunday’s win with Kyle Lowry sidelined with a hamstring injury. “That just permeates and gives your team a lot of confidence.”
This series appears decided, with a matchup against the 76ers likely waiting for the Heat in the second round. Should the Heat advance beyond that, the Celtics are the betting favorite to play them in the Eastern Conference finals, though even they would have to get passed the defending champion Bucks.
The Heat’s potential path to the Finals is based on three pillars: Elite team defense and 3-point shooting, and Butler going toe-to-toe with whatever opposing star. If Young and the Hawks are the first boss battle, the Heat look like they’re playing on easy mode.
The defense has swarmed Young and given him no quarter. Waves of arms and close-outs that have taken away his usual creases and fouling tricks. On a single possession in Sunday’s game, Young was blanketed by P.J. Tucker on the sideline before escaping with a screen. When he approached the middle of the floor, there was Bam Adebayo, waiting to corral him. Adebayo handed Young over to Butler, who bumped Young off his spot and forced him to get rid of the ball. The Heat have held the All-NBA guard to measly averages of 16.5 points on 35.1% shooting (21.2% on 3s), 6.0 assists and 6.0 turnovers in the series.
On the flip side, Butler has never been better offensively. He’s stepping into 3s with confidence (43.8% on 4.0 3-point attempts per game) and doing most of his damage in the paint (shooting 78.1% on 8.0 attempts per game) where only Giannis (77.5% on 10.0 attempts) is scoring more in these playoffs.
In all, Butler is taking nearly six more shots per game in the playoffs than in the regular season.
“Everybody’s in my ear about staying aggressive, taking more shots about still finding a way to play basketball the right way,” Butler said.
That’s because the Heat know that to achieve their goals, they need someone who can resemble the A-list star many around basketball don’t believe they have.
With MVP candidates such as Embiid, Tatum and Giannis potentially looming as the next boss battles, Butler is Miami’s chief protagonist. It’s a funny description for a guy who has carved out a league-wide reputation as an antagonist but, in Miami, he’s exactly what they need.
“I’m always the bad guy, but that’s OK,” Butler said. “Bad guys are welcome here.”