The Miami Heat (6-7) enjoyed being on the right side of a double-digit comeback and now eye timely rest to properly regroup.
Six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler returned to the lineup after missing four consecutive games with ankle woes, but one could hardly tell he hadn’t played in about a week-plus. In that time, the Heat blew a couple of leads but never lost their sense of identity, especially with so much of the season remaining. Butler opened the game with 11 first-quarter points and was plenty active against the Philadelphia 76ers (2-11), who had 2022-23 MVP Joel Embiid in the lineup for just the third time all season.
Butler’s aggression gave Miami an important element for righting its ship: an aggressive, physical player who can control pace, involve teams and create individual scoring opportunities. While Tyler Herro has enjoyed the best start to his career, Butler’s ability to affect the game in myriad ways adds key dimensions to Miami, which overcame a 19-point deficit to notch its 17-point win ahead of a five-day layoff for rest and player treatment. The 35-year-old wing shot 13 of 13 at the free-throw line, attempting more shots at the charity stripe than Philly as a team (9 of 12). Entering Monday, Miami ranked only 18th in free-throw attempts, so the adjustment change by way of Butler’s presence could only be embraced.
“I think it slows the game down so everybody gets to get a break, including myself,” Butler explained after the 106-89 win. “Just staying aggressive, getting into the paint, getting fouled. Getting into the paint, kicking it out to my guys to score the ball. I think I just did what I’m supposed to do at a decent level tonight.”
Though Butler may be humble about his level of play, his team recognized the value behind his approach and followed his lead, which is what Miami needs to remain relevant in the Eastern Conference after its slow start. Butler said he feels physically great despite the recent layoff, which is hard to deny when one returns to form with 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a steal in 34 minutes. Herro and Bam Adebayo didn’t have their most efficient games, but such margins are bigger with a (healthy) player of Butler’s caliber compensating for everything else.
“We need him to do that. He definitely changes the complexity of our team,” Heat forward Kevin Love told The Athletic. “When he’s aggressive like that, it just opens up so much for everybody else, so that was amazing to see him just step in after missing a few games and just being himself. More often than not, when he’s aggressive like that, he’s gonna give us a chance to be there at the end and win the game, and tonight was no different.”
The Heat will enjoy the rest of the week off before the Dallas Mavericks (7-7) visit South Florida on Sunday. Love said the team will treat the upcoming days as a means to recharge, which seems just given the team’s schedule up to this point. Miami is tied with the Golden State Warriors for the fewest home games played by any team this season (five), has hosted consecutive home outings once so far and just completed a six-game road trip — and that doesn’t include the team’s 20-point win over the Washington Wizards in Mexico City on Nov. 2.
“Winning tonight makes it feel a lot better going into the stretch,” Love reflected. “We were in Mexico City for a few days, and then only had one [home] game. Went on a 13-day road trip. Obviously, we wish a couple of the games would’ve gone our way. We get to recalibrate – guys will refresh their mind, refresh their body and come in, hopefully, this Sunday with a newfound freshness, for the lack of a better term.”
It’s fair to say rest won’t be more valuable to any Heat player than Butler, especially because his presence and peak production can only make it easier for Miami to play its style and get creative with lineup combinations due to Butler’s versatility.
For one, Butler’s 10 boards helped Miami’s plus-11 advantage in rebounds, which snapped a seven-game skid during which the Heat were outrebounded each time, tying Miami’s longest such streak in the last decade. A key part of that was the Heat using a new starting lineup. The opening unit of Butler, Adebayo, Herro, Haywood Highsmith and Duncan Robinson played 15 minutes together, outscored the 76ers by 12 and grabbed over 62 percent of its rebound opportunities.
En route to Monday’s 36-point turnaround, the Heat leaned on role players like Dru Smith (10 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals) and Alec Burks (seven points, six rebounds, three assists) to chip in. Butler’s aggressiveness was key in making the game easier for Smith and Burks, who each enjoyed scoring opportunities off Butler’s drives on Monday. Such plays provided promising foreshadowing for what Heat coach Erik Spoelstra believes can help Miami find its collective footing, whether Butler is in the starting lineup or simply putting his other teammates in distinct positions to succeed.
“When Jimmy feels good physically, he’s going to get to the free-throw line,” Spoelstra said after the game. “He’s going to create collisions – he’s not flopping. He’s putting his down, and he’s creating some action. But he’s also able to do it with the poise and savviness and the experience to make the right play. He did that a bunch of times, where he got in there and found open shooters. So, we’ll keep him as physically youthful as we possibly can the rest of the year and utilize our depth to do that.”
(Top photo: Issac Baldizon / Getty Images )
