As expected, Butler is off to strong start offensively
DALLAS
As soon as the Miami Heat acquired veteran point guard Kyle Lowry in early August, Jimmy Butler knew his role in the Miami Heat’s offense would be different moving forward.
Less playmaking and more shot taking.
“I get to go back and score the ball a lot more,” Butler said, with the Heat idle until Tuesday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. “That doesn’t mean I can’t pass. I still take pride in getting my teammates open, as well. But I do get to jack up some shots. I don’t think I’ve shot as many shots as I’ve shot in the last couple of games in a very long time. But coaches ask me to do it and
Kyle is asking me to be aggressive. I’m just listening to my guys.”
If the early results are any indication, Butler won’t be returning to his former role anytime soon unless circumstances force him to. He’s averaging a career-high 17 shot attempts per game to start the season, up from his first two seasons with the Heat when he averaged 13.1 shot attempts in 2019-20 and 14.2 shot attempts last season.
Butler, 32, is also averaging 25.3 points on
52.9 percent shooting, seven rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals to lead the Heat to a 5-1 start. It’s still very early, but that would set new career highs in points, rebounds and steals for Butler.
How impressive are those numbers? The only player in NBA history who has finished a season averaging at least 25 points, five assists and two steals while shooting at least 52 percent from the field is Michael Jordan, who did it in four separate seasons.
“I’ve known a lot about Jimmy and I’ve known how good he has been,” Lowry said. “I’ve always respected him and I know how hard he works. So none of this that he’s doing surprises me. I expect him to continue to do this and I’ve always expected him to do this. I think now with me being here, he doesn’t have to go out there and get 10 assists. He can fall into seven assists and still score 27 points in a game that he didn’t play the fourth quarter in, which is huge.”
That’s exactly what Butler did in Saturday night’s 129-103 road win over the Memphis Grizzlies, when he totaled 27 points on an ultra-efficient 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 10of-11 shooting from the foul line, five rebounds, seven assists and three steals while committing only one turnover in 30 minutes.
There’s a list of excellent NBA players who can replicate those offensive numbers. But many of them can’t also take on the challenge of defending Grizzlies emerging star Ja Morant, who entered Saturday’s game tied with Golden State’s Stephen Curry for the NBA’s scoring lead at
30.4 points per game.
Morant finished with just 20 points on 7-of-18 shooting against the Heat. According to NBA tracking stats, Morant scored just two points on 1-of-5 shooting and committed two turnovers in the 29 possessions that he was defended by Butler on Saturday.
“I think he’s one of the most unique players in this association for that very reason,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Butler. “He’s extremely efficient offensively. He makes the right play over and over and over. It’s not about him wanting to stack up stats. He’s just making the right plays offensively to help you team, whether that’s scoring or playmaking or facilitating.
“And then you add his will and competitiveness to be able to take on the biggest challenges in this league, to guard different guys, and that’s basically one though five. And Morant is a heck of a talent, obviously, leading the league in scoring. A player like that, you have to have an elite competitor at least to line up against him.”
While Butler has taken a more aggressive approach in hunting for his own offense this season, his shot chart remains pretty much the same as it looked in his first two seasons with the Heat. Nearly half of his shots are coming at the rim and the other half from midrange, as he has only attempted eight threes in six games.
Butler is also still averaging 7.7 free-throw attempts per game despite fouls numbers being down around the NBA this season because of rule changes implemented to eliminate fouls drawn with unnatural shooting motions. He averaged 9.1 free throws per game in 2019-20 and eight free throws per game last season.
But the shots Butler is getting are being generated a little differently this season, with 2.2 of his shots per game coming out of post-ups. He has been efficient in those situations, too, scoring 1.13 points per post-up possession, which ranks second in the NBA behind former Heat center and current Detroit Pistons big man Kelly Olynyk.
Butler averaged 0.9 shot attempts per game out of post-ups in 2019-20 and one shot attempt per game out of post-ups last season.
Butler is also taking advantage of additional opportunities in transition as a result of Lowry’s relentless pace powered by pitch aheads. He has scored seven points per game in transition, which is fourth-most in the NBA behind only Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Boston’s Jaylen Brown.
That’s up from when Butler averaged 3.2 transition points per game in 2019-20 and 4.1 transition points per game last season.
“I think in years past he had to shoulder so much offensively, distributing, scoring, getting other people involved, toggling in and out of those different roles,” Heat forward Duncan Robinson said of Butler. “I think now there’s just so much clarity. Obviously, he’s super unselfish and a playmaker. But having Kyle just allows him to really be his best version, which you guys are all seeing obviously.”
Heat wing Max Strus exited Saturday’s win with 4:59 to play because of an apparent leg injury. Spoelstra said there was no real update after the game and “we’ll get to Dallas, we’ll see how feels and we’ll take the next step.”
Anthony Chiang: 305-376-4991, @Anthony_Chiang
I’VE KNOWN A LOT ABOUT JIMMY [BUTLER] AND I’VE KNOWN HOW GOOD HE HAS BEEN. ... SO NONE OF THIS THAT HE’S DOING SURPRISES ME. Kyle Lowry