Jimmy ButlerJesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Jimmy Butler has been the star of the Miami Heat all postseason. Really, he’s been their driving force for four years, but we all know “Playoff Jimmy” is different, even if he continues to insist that’s not a thing.
But after an utterly dominant 128-102 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 3, it’s clear that this team is about far more than its star.
Miami now leads the Eastern Conference Finals 3-0. They led Sunday’s game by 30 points after three quarters. Butler didn’t have to log a second in the fourth quarter, and he finished with just 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
His 15.1 game score (“a rough measure of a player’s productivity for a single game”) was his lowest of this postseason, but the Heat still ran away with the game behind 19-of-35 shooting from three and a grinding, team-wide defensive effort that ran Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown off the floor by the time the fourth quarter started.
Boston’s two leading scorers in both the regular and postseason combined for 26 points on 35 shots. They went 1-of-14 from three, which brings their series total from behind the arc to a paltry 7-of-40 (17.5 percent).
And while it’s easy for us to say, “Why not try to attack the rim?”, Miami’s help defense inside and rotations back to the perimeter have been borderline flawless. The particular aggression when Tatum or Brown drives almost dares them to make the plays the Heat seem to know they can’t.
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The general defensive intensity has limited Boston to 107.7 points per game in the series. It put up 117.9 in the regular season and 115.5 in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
But where Butler’s teammates have really shined is on the other end of the floor.
Game 3 was essentially over by halftime, thanks to a wave of threes from Caleb Martin (undrafted), Gabe Vincent (undrafted) and Duncan Robinson (you guessed it, undrafted).
Those three combined for seven of Miami’s nine first-half triples. They finished 15-of-23 from deep. Vincent alone had 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting.
And this wasn’t just a one-off. The Heat are now shooting 38.8 percent from deep in the playoffs (tied with the Denver Nuggets for first). Vincent, Robinson, Martin, Max Strus and Kevin Love have all hit at least 20 triples. Lowry and Butler have 19 and 15, respectively.
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Miami’s unleashed a postseason-long barrage from deep that comes from all over the roster. And that loosens things up inside for both Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Adebayo has done the bulk of his scoring in the paint, while Butler’s done plenty too (though his mid-range game is obviously dangerous, as well). What really makes those two dynamic is the willingness and ability each has to spray the ball out to shooters from those driving lanes. Butler is averaging 5.6 assists. Adebayo’s contributing 3.9.
The well-rounded production from the non-Butler portion of the roster has Miami three wins into the Eastern Conference Finals. Nine players have contributed at least a third of a win share. And some of those may not have come without untimely injuries to Tyler Herro (who’s played 19 minutes this postseason) and Victor Oladipo (who logged 45).
Therein lies one of the (not-so-secret) secrets of this Miami run.
Like the late-dynasty versions of the San Antonio Spurs, the Heat and coach Erik Spoelstra have entrusted players all over this roster to play real minutes and roles over the last few years. It doesn’t matter if they were a lottery pick like Bam, a passed-over veteran like Love or Cody Zeller or an undrafted player like Vincent, Robinson, Martin or Strus.
If you show a commitment to your development, the team’s schemes on both ends of the floor and #HeatCulture, you’ll get a chance to play. And if that chance happens to come in the postseason, you’ll be ready.
That kind of preparation, grit and cohesiveness around a superstar at the center of it all is not unlike another Western Conference power during the 2000s and 2010s.
It took Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks 13 seasons before finding the right mix with which to surround their star’s offensive brilliance.
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Butler obviously didn’t stick it out with one team (his first move came by way of a trade, so you can’t really blame him). Instead, he’s sought that perfect mix on his own. The Heat are his fourth team, and he may have finally found it with them.
Butler is one win away from his second trip to the Finals in four seasons. And for the second time, it looks like the West may present him with a potential giant to slay.
This time, though, the supporting cast coming with him looks more ready to help.
Adebayo, Robinson and Herro (who may be back for some Finals minutes) are all more experienced. Love and Lowry bring championship experience. Martin is a three-and-D wing (who can slash a little) that Miami didn’t have last time around.
And Butler has somehow hit a higher level. His box plus/minus over the last two postseasons almost doubles the mark from 2020.
All of the above is coming together at exactly the right moment. The Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Celtics have all been borderline helpless to stop it.
With one more win against the East, this blueprint will face its final test, which appears to be Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets.
Denver will have home-court advantage. It’ll probably be the betting favorite. It’s a pretty heavy favorite in FiveThirtyEight’s projection system too.
But all Butler and his perfectly built supporting cast have done is smash expectations every round. At this point, five more wins wouldn’t be all that surprising.
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