One Heat player just finished one of the best statistical months of his career. Another Heat player can’t seem to find consistency on offense since the All-Star Break. In the month of February, Bam Adebayo was dominant, posting 22 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. On the other hand, Jimmy Butler has been mostly inefficient to start the second half of the season. In the five games since the All-Star Break, Butler is averaging 18.4 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game. On top of that, he’s only converting 38.4% of his 14.6 field goal attempts per game.
While Jimmy is putting up decent numbers, he’s not doing so at the efficient rate that we’re used to. For the season, he’s averaging 21.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.8 steals. He’s converting 46.8% of his 14.9 field goal attempts per game. Whether it’s the rust from a week-long break or something else, he hasn’t looked like the same Jimmy Butler we’ve seen all year.
Miami’s recent game against the Bucks is a perfect example of this. Jimmy went 2 of 14 from the field, ultimately only ending up with 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. When Jimmy’s shot is not falling, you can usually expect him to make up for it by drawing fouls and converting at the line. However, he only had two free-throw attempts this game and made both. Despite 30 points from Herro and 21 points from Bam, Miami ended up losing this game to the Bucks by one point.
Miami’s last game against the Sixers showed Jimmy can still put up solid numbers even with lower percentages than he’s capable of. He went 6 of 15 from the field, finishing with 21 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. He also was able to get to the line at a decent rate, converting 8 of 11 free throw attempts. Jimmy will likely get back to his normal percentages before the playoffs arrive, and as long as the Heat keep winning, fans don’t have too much to worry about.
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