When Jimmy Butler chose to sign with the Miami Heat as a free agent, this offseason he faced criticism for “not wanting to win.” The All-Star forward turned down more money with the 76ers, and the opportunity to join LeBron or Kawhi on either of the LA teams. Fast forward to now, and the Miami Heat move on to play the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Pat Riley’s Plan
On one hand, the Heat finding the cap space to acquire Jimmy Butler was surprising during the offseason. However, the elevated level of play from the young team has been even more noteworthy. The once widely hated Miami Heat have quickly become one of the most charming teams to watch in the NBA. Fans are outwardly cheering for the fearless jumper from rookie Tyler Herro, being wowed by All-Star Bam Adebayo’s athleticism and versatility, and discovering the sweet stroke of a Duncan Robinson three pointer. Now isolated in the Orlando Bubble and sending home the Pacers and Bucks with seemingly ease has been the most surprising of all.
Perhaps the craziest part of the Miami Heat’s success this season is that this wasn’t even the plan they had in mind when signing Butler. They signed Jimmy Butler to (hopefully) eventually pair him with another superstar from the 2020 or 2021 free-agent class for a championship push. Miami even turned down a trade to acquire Danilo Gallinari at the trade deadline to ensure they had the cap room for multiple max deals. They instead dealt Justice Winslow, who had been having some of the best stretches in his career playing a point forward role for the Heat. Trading Winslow brought Jae Crowder, Solomon Hill, and Andre Igoudala to an already overachieving team in South Beach.
Heat Culture
“Heat Culture,” the phrase you heard over and over in their championship runs during the Big Three era, has come back to our vocabularies this season. The conversation started back at the beginning of the season when undrafted rookie Kendrick Nunn had one of the hottest starts of all rookies. The third-year pro, Bam Adebayo also solidified himself as a product of Heat Culture, rising the ranks to become an Eastern Conference All-Star. The Heat also turned undrafted forward Duncan Robinson into the league-leader in three point shooting percentage.
Combine those players with the ultra-confident Tyler Herro, veteran Goran Dragic, and late-season additions Jae Crowder and Andre Igoudala, the Heat have an incredible amount of depth. All of which played major roles in the team’s second-round victory over the NBA’s top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. Dragic led the team in scoring vs. the Bucks, and Crowder and Igoudala as well as Butler and Derrick Jones Jr. were all on the taskforce of shutting down league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
A quick look at the Miami’s player stats shows what has helped them overachieve the way they have. They play as a team. Any given game, any given player can be the player to beat the other team. With Goran Dragic heating up, the Heat have multiple offensive weapons and are currently ranked 4th in total offense in the playoffs. Their teamwork is what makes this team such an easy team to root for this postseason.
Jimmy Butler
Many questioned and even laughed at Jimmy Butler when he chose the Heat when he was Kawhi’s pick for a super team teammate. He then went on to turn down a larger offer from the Philadelphia 76ers. There was obviously foresight in this decision. Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra are deserving of applause in the team they have built and how they have developed these players. The Heat have won and will win more in future seasons with their budding stars and the star free agents they hope to bring in.
It should no longer be questioned if Jimmy Butler wants to win, and it has become clear that he does want to win, and he knew the best situation for him to win long term.
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