Why Jimmy Butler is like Dwyane Wade and better for the Miami Heat now than in the bubble
Published: April 17, 2022 US time
Publisher: the Athletic
Article by Joe Walden
Article translated by de Gaulle
Before the second game of the Hawks series began, the first reaction in the minds of many fans when it came to the Heat's Jimmy Butler was probably the same scene almost a month ago. During a timeout during the game, the Heat's core quarreled with his manager Spollstra so severely that Even Spoo slammed his tactical board to the floor.
Now, after Butler played a great game, Coach Spoo mentioned the quarrel between the two again in the post-match press conference. The Heat manager's cliché was because the team was not as hard as his opponent, the Eagles, in several floorball battles before the end of the first half, which made Jimmy Butler very unhappy, and he also "fired" at his teammates at halftime.
"You've probably seen what our dressing room looks like at halftime," Spoo said, "because you just have to think about what happened on the sidelines a month ago to know what happened in midfield." However, compared to the angry crown on the sidelines a month ago, Spoo, who now mentions that past again, has a smile on the corner of his mouth. Because of their excellent performance in the second half, the Heat finally won the victory, and the series score was already 2-0 ahead of the Hawks.
In this victory, Butler not only did what a spiritual leader should do in the dressing room, but also completed his task as the tactical core of the team on the court. Amid the clamor of almost 20,000 fans at home, Butler became the "hottest" player on the Heat's lineup. He scored 45 points in the game, especially in the final stages of the fourth quarter when he single-handedly played the Hawks a 7-0, completely helping the Heat lock up the 115-105 victory.
Flipping through the data sheet, Butler was excellent in every aspect of the game. He shot 15-of-25 from the entire game, 4-of-7 from three-point range (he shot just 23 percent from three-point range this season), and made 11 of 12 free throws on the free throw line, a fundamental improvement over the previous game of 7 and 2. In addition, he has 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers and 0 fouls, and his plus-minus on the court is a game-high +19. Butler also took on the task of defending Trae Young, as the main defender, he forced the Hawks core to make 10 turnovers in the whole game, setting a career record.
"Tonight's game, he won for us," Heat guard Lowry said, "it's a team sport, but he's done so well on both ends of the floor." At this stage of the season, he has to score, to do what Jimmy Butler should do. So we all don't have to talk to him, he knows exactly where he is and how to play. ”
Lowry mentioned a key point, which is that the Heat need Butler to do more in the playoffs. This has been fully demonstrated by him in the 2020 Disney exclusion playoffs. During that year, Butler almost single-handedly dragged the Heat onto the finals stage. In the fifth game of the finals, he also used his personal performance of 40 points in a single game to retain the suspense of the championship one more time.
However, compared to Butler, who led the team to the Finals two years ago, the core of the Heat, which is now leading the team on the playoff journey again, has changed, especially on the three-point line. Although Butler has been the team's leading scorer in the regular season, he only averages 2.0 shots per game from outside the three-point line and doesn't shoot high. But after playing two games in the playoffs, Butler has made nine three-pointers and hit five of them.
"He's finally starting to shoot three-pointers," Vincent, a key backup for the Heat, said of Butler, "jimmy, he's both a great offensive player and a great defender." We have witnessed this more than once. Now, he's starting to shoot three-pointers with confidence, and he's also able to shoot three-point shots, which has undoubtedly brought his offense to a whole new level. ”
For the change in the way he attacked, Butler mentioned two crucial exchanges. The first was a conversation with P.J. Tucker the day before the start of The Second Game, and the second was a conversation with team coach Chris Quinn on the morning of matchday. Both conversations involved Butler's offensive style. In his opening game against the Hawks, Butler scored 21 points, essentially on par with his regular-season 21.4-point average. Butler wasn't satisfied, though, and he felt he needed to do more.
Butler's advance preparation played a role in Game 2, because the Heat didn't play well in the opening stages of this game. Duncan Robinson, who scored a team-high 27 points in the first game, still did nothing in the first seven minutes of the second game; Tucker, who scored 16 points in the first game, had more fouls (5) than individual points (3) in the second game. And these scoring gaps need to be filled by Butler.
"I just want to tell myself, to tell my teammates, to tell my coaches, and to tell everyone to be confident in my ability to score," Butler said of his offensive play, "I'm just running on the court, catching the ball and shooting, and sometimes I don't realize I'm shooting three-pointers." I just took the opportunities that the opposing defense gave me, and then the balls I threw started hitting the target continuously. ”
Hearing Butler's statement, a reporter asked him whether his personal status and the heat's performance reminded him of the 2020 playoffs. Unexpectedly, Butler gave a negative answer. "No, I'm a different player myself," Butler said, "and I love it." ”
Butler then further explained: "I'm not a ball-holding point anymore. We have a point guard on our team, and that's Kyle (Lowry) and I really like him playing point guard. In addition, there is Gabb (Vincent) on the bench, who also assumes the responsibility of a point guard. So I came on and the goal was to score. If I can't score points, then I pass the ball. We're a very different team today, and I'm a very different player. In the current model, we are a better team. ”
Lowry's arrival shared the pressure of Butler's organization of attack and possession; the addition of P.J. Tucker eliminated the need for Butler to cover all the flanking defensive positions. As Butler himself put it, he no longer needs to do everything now, and he can put more energy into offense, such as repeated three-point shots on the outside in Game II.
After Battle II with the Hawks, a journalist compared Butler to Heat legend Dwyane Wade. Neither of them has been a three-point shooter in their careers, but Wade has repeatedly hit three-point shots in key playoff games and key moments. Coach Spoo, who has coached two players, also agreed.
"It's actually a good contrast," Spoo said, "imagine, when the game hits that stressful moment, or when it comes to the final tiebreaker, you stand opposite and give Dwayne Wade a three-point shot in the open slot?" No one would do that, because he's a killer, he'll grasp that moment. And Jimmy, he has a lot of similar traits. ”
Wade brought back three championship trophies for the team during his time with the Heat. Being able to be discussed with him is undoubtedly a great encouragement to Butler's playoff journey this year. From this point of view, Butler has indeed become a different and better player than in the past.
"Sometimes, one needs to show some dark side, because it can better urge the people around them to do better," Lowry said of Butler. He is showing these qualities with his performance, and he will always do what he should do at the right time and be ready for battle. His ultimate goal is to win the championship, and for that purpose, he will do everything that needs to be done. ”