Ready to get going with Butler
MIAMI — They showed at the outset of this season they could be competitive without their leader.
Now the Miami Heat are ready for next step, with Jimmy Butler alongside.
Their $142 million offseason acquisition out for the first three games on paternity leave, Butler is expected back when the Heat play the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
“We’re excited, for sure,” forward Justise Winslow said, with the Heat 2-1. “He had the baby and was taking care of all that. I guess there’s some upside. We’ve got to grow. But truthfully, I’m so excited to play with him.
“We haven’t really played with him a real game. So that’s going to be a learning curve, as well, figuring out each other’s tendencies and stuff.”
With Butler out, Winslow emerged as a focus of the offense, with rookies Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro rounding out the opening perimeter rotation. Now, Butler is expected to step in for one of the rookies.
“He’s an All-Star-caliber player,” Winslow said. “He’s one of the leaders of this team. He brings that intensity, that heart, that hustle. You can count on it. That’s something that you could bank on, Jimmy being there, being present, putting up solid numbers.”
The Heat opted to open the season with the veteran point guard Goran Dragic as a reserve. He flourished in that role, now with no need for a shift with Butler returning.
“That means a lot, having him back,” Dragic said. “He’s our All-Star. We can count on him. He can play on both ends of the floor. It’s only going to bring more stability to our team.
“We’re deep as a squad. So we need everybody, and Jimmy is one of those guys who’s going to be a leader of this team. Can’t wait to have him.”
Coach Erik Spoelstra said there would be no easing of Butler back into the mix.
“He’s our guy,” he said. “He’ll be playing. I’m not planning on resting him.”
Even with the scrappy performances in victories over the Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks and then the loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, only now will the Heat truly get to their 2019-20 identity.
“We like these competitive, edgy kind of guys,” Spoelstra said. “For better or worse, that’s us. We are who we are, we like who we like, and Jimmy fits into our model.”
To Spoelstra, it is the continuation of the legacy of Dwyane Wade, Alonzo Mourning and Udonis Haslem.
“All of them are cut from the same cloth — super competitive,” he said, “on the very edge of competitiveness and boiling over. That’s our language. So when you have your best player believing in the same things that you believe in, that’s a pretty good place to start.”
Northern lights
The Heat after Sunday’s loss in Minnesota sent two-way guard Daryl Macon to their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Forward Chris Silva, the Heat’s other two-way player, accompanied the Heat back to South Florida.
Two-way players are limited to 45 days in the NBA per season, with that clock to start Tuesday for Silva.
The Skyforce opened camp Monday in South Dakota, announcing their camp roster in advance.
Skyforce roster
Player
Pos.
Ht.
School