Sick, he was uncertain for a long time, but it would have been a shame to miss a meeting after five days of rest… Jimmy Butler was finally dressed against the Mavericks, and he confirmed that he remained the leader of the Heat.
Author of the equalizing dunk to send the two teams into overtime, the All-Star winger compiled 33 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks in Miami's victory. All with impressive efficiency: 11 out of 17 on shots, and 11 out of 16 on free throws. All without taking a single 3-point!
“I feel like I need to be more aggressive and more often” he explained. “Any time I'm aggressive like that, and the way the guys and coach want me to be, it opens up a lot more things for other people. » The advanced stats prove it. The more Jimmy Butler has the ball in his hands, the better the Heat play.
The Heat win more often when Jimmy Butler is in the thick of the game
When he was on the field last night, 28.7% of the balls went through him. This is a record this season. In the ten matches he has played this season, the Heat are 5v-1d when this “usage rate” is greater than 20%, and 0v-4d when Butler displays a ” usage rate » less than 20%.
“If I can spearhead the offense, that’s great. All that's left is to figure out how to do it defensively.” continues Jimmy Butler, before talking about his equalizing dunk: “It annoys me to say this, but Duncan (Robinson) made a great pass! »
Which means that Bam Adebayo becomes his Lieutenant again, and the person concerned accepts it willingly. “He’s an intelligent player, and he makes the right gesture with every action. When everything is in place, we feed off it. Sometimes we rely on Tyler, sometimes we rely on me, but right now we're relying on Jimmy, and we're totally behind it. »
Like Nikola Jokic
For Erik Spoelstra, Jimmy Butler's great strength is his speed of reaction and action. When he has the ball in hand, he has the ability to analyze the game very quickly and act quickly.
“He has the shortest reaction time in processing speed when the balls are in his hands, and that was already the case in our first year” concludes the Miami coach. “And you know what's unique about the way he does it is that he can bring that physical density and intensity, while slowing down in key moments. This is part of his genius. He doesn't just put his head down and crash into people… He knows how to read where the spin can slip. This is the kind of thing that great players, like Jokic, do at a slightly slower pace, but that's what he does, he processes all the information and it's a rare skill. »
| Jimmy Butler | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2011-12 | CHI | 42 | 9 | 40.5 | 18.2 | 76.8 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.6 |
| 2012-13 | CHI | 82 | 26 | 46.7 | 38.1 | 80.3 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 8.6 |
| 2013-14 | CHI | 67 | 39 | 39.7 | 28.3 | 76.9 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 13.1 |
| 2014-15 | CHI | 65 | 39 | 46.2 | 37.8 | 83.4 | 1.8 | 4.1 | 5.8 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 20.0 |
| 2015-16 | CHI | 67 | 37 | 45.5 | 31.1 | 83.2 | 1.2 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 20.9 |
| 2016-17 | CHI | 76 | 37 | 45.5 | 36.7 | 86.5 | 1.7 | 4.5 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 23.9 |
| 2017-18 | MIN | 59 | 37 | 47.4 | 35.0 | 85.4 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 22.2 |
| 2018-19 * | All Teams | 65 | 34 | 46.2 | 34.7 | 85.5 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 18.7 |
| 2018-19 * | PHL | 55 | 33 | 46.1 | 33.8 | 86.8 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 18.2 |
| 2018-19 * | MIN | 10 | 36 | 47.1 | 37.8 | 78.7 | 1.6 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 21.3 |
| 2019-20 | MIA | 58 | 34 | 45.5 | 24.4 | 83.4 | 1.8 | 4.8 | 6.7 | 6.0 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 19.9 |
| 2020-21 | MIA | 52 | 34 | 49.7 | 24.5 | 86.3 | 1.8 | 5.1 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 21.5 |
| 2021-22 | MIA | 57 | 34 | 48.0 | 23.3 | 87.0 | 1.8 | 4.1 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 21.4 |
| 2022-23 | MIA | 64 | 33 | 53.9 | 35.0 | 85.0 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 22.9 |
| 2023-24 | MIA | 60 | 34 | 49.9 | 41.4 | 85.8 | 1.8 | 3.5 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 20.8 |
| 2024-25 | MIA | 9 | 31 | 50.0 | 21.4 | 78.3 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 17.7 |
| Total | 823 | 33 | 47.0 | 32.8 | 84.3 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 18.3 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
