Some things are going to change for key Heat players this season considering they added a player of Kyle Lowry’s caliber, as well as some corner spacers in PJ Tucker and Markieff Morris. Even if it doesn’t change things majorly, roles will shift slightly.

To that point, it’ll lead to many of the player’s roles being simplified. Bam Adebayo can expect the ball to find him in comfortable spots on the roll. Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson will get more open looks with the extra rim pressure on the floor. Tucker, Morris, and Dewayne Dedmon won’t have to worry about many breakdowns on the perimeter defensively.

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Everything will be simple. But well, Jimmy Butler will be used all over the place. And that’s exactly how he likes it.

On the defensive end, it’s hard to keep him in one specific spot, since he does so many things really well. Hitting passing lanes is probably his best feature, can defend the post, and can’t truly be broken down one-on-one.

Offensively, the three-ball may not be a consistent shot for him, but he can be placed in every other spot on the floor to be effective as a scorer or facilitator. Much like Lowry, he’s very flexible in terms of where he can be used.

Before I continue to dive deeper and deeper into the specifics of this Heat roster, we can’t move forward too far before establishing the ways Butler will be utilized. So, let’s hop right into the film of how he will bounce off the newest acquisitions…

Defensively, Nobody Benefits More

Lowry changes many things for this team. One of the biggest shifts is that they are adding a point of attack defender who won’t die out on screens, which hugely takes some weight off Adebayo’s shoulders when defending the pick and roll.

But in my opinion, that ability impacts Butler more than anybody else on the team.

We all know what he is capable of on the defensive end, but there’s a reason that he began to hit some strides toward the end of the season on that side of the floor. Trevor Ariza being added mid-way through the year meant Butler didn’t have to defend the opposing team’s best guard in the regular season. And that was huge for his overall impact.

Lowry will be the guy in that spot moving forward, which means Butler will find himself off the ball on the weak-side more often. And I don’t think there’s many things Butler is better at than being a help-side freelancer on defense.

Looking at the play above, this is Jimmy Butler right at home. He takes chances that many players just wouldn’t, due to his confidence in his on-court reads.

Not many players are leaving Anthony Edwards wide open with zero help in sight, but Butler saw an opportunity. Naz Reid has his back to him, leading to a full out sprint from Butler to poke it free and play into transition. When he can be that sneaky helper who can disrupt ball-handlers completely, the team benefits greatly.

After this particular game, I asked Butler about making these type of reads, which he responded: “You gotta look at who has the ball, right or left handed, what their skill-set is, and I guess some good timing with some timely gambles…If I get them, it’s a good thing. If I don’t, I gotta hear Spo telling me to stop doing them.”

It’s not just about putting him in the best defensive spot physically. With Butler, it’s a mental game, and allowing him to manipulate offenses with a trusted guy on the perimeter will lead to very good things.

Why was Miami’s 2-3 zone so effective in the bubble specifically?

There are so many answers to that question: it hid negative perimeter defenders, caught opposing teams by surprise for them to adjust, etc. But one of the main things not talked about enough was pairing Butler’s perimeter dominance with another strong defender at the top of the key.

No clear-out could take him away from the play. No screen could force a switch to put them at a disadvantage. It was just pure confidence that his side-kick would be there no matter what, Adebayo was ready for the step-up or trap, and guys like Robinson and Herro had the simple task of filling the weak-side.

In some ways, that is what Butler will have in many of the Heat’s lineups next season. In the starting group, there will be 4 strong suited defenders on the floor, and a bunch ready to rotate in. Shooting may feel like the skill-set that is best around Butler, but it’s actually about the other side of the floor.

The Heat have a roster that enhances Butler, and that’s the exact reason they went in this direction.

Three-Man Game

Now to the offensive end, a lot of stuff will look like an Erik Spoelstra masterpiece. Weapons will be all over the place, meaning the motion offense will benefit greatly. But as seen in Toronto, running offensive sets as a three-man game works very well.

One variation of the three-man group will be Lowry, Robinson, and Adebayo. There will be games where they begin to spam double drag–Lowry facilitating/slashing, Robinson popping, and Adebayo rolling–which is the much needed diversity this offense has been searching for since the bubble breakout.

But more importantly, three-man actions down the stretch are going to include the team’s three best players: Butler, Lowry, and Adebayo. We could also see some double drag with these three, including Butler as the ball-handler and Lowry as the popper, since Lowry will be in a ton of off-ball spots throughout the year.

Looking at the clip above, though, this will be home-base for this trio late in games. The ball in the hands of Butler as Adebayo comes to set the screen. It appears to be a normal pick and roll, except a stagger screen is being set by Goran Dragic in this instance on the big man, forcing either a very favorable switch or an easy basket.

I’m going to discuss Lowry’s screening a bit more next, but that’s what elevates this combination. It’s going to get to a point where defenses have no other choice in these spots than to switch, giving Lowry an isolation on the pop-out with a slow big or Adebayo on the block with a guard.

It is textbook. And a couple of veterans being at the forefront of this just makes it so much easier.

Butler-Lowry Dynamic

Something I’ve highlighted many times in the past is that there’s a reason Butler-Dragic pick and rolls were so effective. Of course Dragic did more than enough to make stuff like this work, but it all revolved around Butler’s strengths.

Butler as the screener meant he could receive the ball on the short roll, which is where he’s super comfortable. He can use his plethora of pump-fakes, turn into a back-down, or plummet into the defender under the rim to draw the foul like he loves to do.

When running inverted PnR’s, the guard setting the screen or forcing the switch wasn’t what was important. It was that angle provided is all Butler needs to make something out of the possession. And when talking about guards screening, not many are better than Lowry in that department.

Looking at the plays above, something really sticks out: the spacing. In the first clip, the defender was willing to dip down for the cut-off, leaving Kendrick Nunn open on the perimeter, while in the second clip, Andre Iguodala’s corner presence was an after-thought.

Could that change for Miami next season? It’s definitely possible.

We know that nobody is ducking down to the nail when Robinson is on the perimeter, but it’s more about that 5th guy. It’ll come down to Tucker continuing to punish defenses in the corner, and Morris improving the efficiency levels little by little. If you give Butler space on these top of the key PnR’s, late-game offense will look a lot smoother.

Lob Threat through Power Forward Play-Making 

Speaking of the latest wings added to the team, Tucker and Morris, there’s a formula for them to take some extra initiation as passers. Tucker will most likely takeover the DHO sets at times to allow Adebayo to set-up on the weak-side, but Morris is actually the guy that will open up Butler’s play-book.

If there’s one part of the floor that Morris is an effective play-maker from, it’s the top of the key. He was used a ton in horns actions to open up the floor with him at the top of the offense, leading to skip passes to the corner or over the top passes to bigs at the rim.

(Enters Jimmy Butler)

Butler is clearly a high level slasher and off-ball cutter, which we saw with the Robinson rub screens time and time again. Looking at the plays above, we see Kelly Olynyk surveying the floor then hitting him in stride with the lob pass for the finish.

That can be the Markieff Morris role at times, and even if it doesn’t seem major, it will be. With a secondary attacker on the roster, finding these minor areas of the offense to take advantage of will be huge for Butler, and I think we see it gradually increase throughout the season.

Switching On and Off the Ball

I’ve talked enough about the spots he will be used and bouncing off of his teammates on offense, but we must finish off with this: he will still be putting the ball in the basket in the same way, just sometimes it’ll be slightly easier.

What I mean by that is Butler is 31 years old, and though he may be moving aside for certain possessions, his interior control will still be present on a nightly basis.

The part that needs to be mentioned here is drawing the line between on-ball and off-ball effectiveness. Once again, Lowry will be running the show a lot of the time with his crafty passing ability, but sticking Butler on the wing or in the corner won’t happen for long.

Not being a deep ball threat won’t allow him to be a spectator in the offense, which leads us right into the clip above by playing off the catch. There are only a few players who can score off the catch like Butler can, just like there’s few who can shoot off the catch like Robinson can. They have the recipe right in front of their eyes.

In the clip above, there’s nothing too complicated about doing this. Finding ways to get him sprinting toward the hoop is all he needs when balancing the ability to play on and off the ball. We’ve seen his on-ball skill frequently, but this small expansion changes things.

Run a double screen for Lowry on the wing, stick Robinson in the strong-side corner, and let Butler go to work. That is the recipe I’m talking about. And there are many more layers that can be added onto that.

Giving Spoelstra extra weapons and Butler extra layers to the offense is what each of them need to win basketball games. And well, they now have both.

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We have reached the final stage of my Heat roster evaluation series, and clearly, we must end it off with the star of the show, Jimmy Butler. A disappointing end to the season, after a poor first round performance, should not be the season takeaway, since frankly, he had a career year at age 31.

Career highs in rebounds, assists, steals, and field goal percentage doesn’t even tell the full story, due to the fact he did that in such an uneven year. Going out for a long period after some Covid effects, then trying to will the team back into Eastern Conference contention after a slow start.

He got them into a reasonable spot to try and make yet another post-season run, but it just felt like there was nothing left in the tank. The short turnaround after an all-time Finals performance contributed to that, but as Butler would probably say, none of that is an excuse.

Now the focus is to move forward into the off-season and the 2021-2022 season. Some players that he has close relationships with could be on their way in, which could truly fulfill the next run they try to make with the Miami Heat.

Anyways, these pieces are always about taking a brief look back. With Butler, we already know all of the things he’s good at, which is why we will take a slightly different approach. We’re discussing some of the small things.

Why will that be the focus? Well, Jimmy Butler is really good at the small things.

The PnR Passer

We all know how good of a passer Butler is, especially following his career year, recording 7 assists a game. But this stuff transcends the numbers, since it’s more about the degree of difficulty.

There aren’t many teams that have their two best players as non-perimeter shooters. To that point, there aren’t many teams that have their best pick and roll set including two non-shooters. The reasoning: there aren’t as many 2 on 1’s created in the Butler-Adebayo PnR, since most defenders aren’t racing to go over on the screen.

But still, it’s somehow super effective. Adebayo’s soft touch and threatening lob catching ability definitely factors in to that success, but most of the credit goes to the crafty passing of Butler.

When taking a look at the first clip above, something well known with Butler jumps off the screen immediately. He holds such gravity when moving downhill, that the defensive player of the year and a skilled perimeter defender stay locked in on Butler all the way to the rim.

The difference with guarding him in the PnR, is that he can make passes that a lot of guys just can’t. He throws the wrap around bounce pass to Adebayo for the easy flip shot, which makes this pairing effective with the correct spacing.

Now, take a look at the second clip above. The same situation, same defenders, and well, the same result. As mentioned before, the defender smartly goes under and contains perfectly to eliminate the roller. I mean, try* and eliminate the roller.

He hits a much different wrap around bounce pass down the baseline, while he knew Adeayo was drifting toward that spot. Elite shooting seems to be the consensus for an effective PnR in today’s game, but an exceptional passing ability basically levels things out, especially when a Duncan Robinson type is on the floor to eliminate any help or tagging on the roller.

A More Fitting PnR Role

As I just dove into previously, Butler as the ball handler in those pick and roll sets clearly work, but when teams like the Bucks begin to muck things up in the middle of the floor come playoff time, things can change.

It’s not just about adjusting to a defense, it’s also about tending to the star player. The reason Butler had so many reps in those spots was due to the team lacking a point guard. Yes, they had guys who can run primary actions to find spots on the floor to lift, but it wasn’t a play-making role.

Now, I consistently bring up the Goran Dragic-Butler duo over the last two years. Dragic isn’t the play-maker you want running those sets, but he’s been a capable one at times. It’s why the Butler-Dragic PnR, both normal and inverted, became such a primary action at the end of games.

Speaking of inverted PnR’s, that is where Butler needs to be most of the time. When there were three spacers on the floor, while Dragic and Butler ran their set at the top of the key, allowing Butler to catch in stride toward the basket, that’s when he’s at his best.

It allows him to play to his strengths in every facet of the game: get moving downhill, play-make via kick-outs as defenders crash, and of course, embrace contact around the rim.

Fast-Break Freight Train

I spoke a lot about fast-break opportunities in my last piece about Adebayo’s next steps, but it is really special what Butler can do in the open court. Adebayo has shown to be very good in that area, but he doesn’t seem to take advantage of it enough. Butler, on the other hand, may take advantage of it a bit too much.

For an aging player, taking contact each and every game for easy points in transition may take a toll on him. It’s a staple of his game, and it’s pretty clear Butler will never shy away from that type of physicality. But it feels like we’re rapidly approaching the point where it’s no longer Adebayo surveying for Butler on those possessions, and instead it’s the other way around.

Aside from that, I feel the one major element to this elite ability in Butler’s bag has to do with something that occurs at the end of the clip. It’s all about the stuff at the rim. Adebayo has no problem getting to that spot on the floor with his versatility and skill, but the interesting part is that’s it’s not the same type of scoring as it is in the half court.

Take a look at the clip above. When Butler gets to the rim, he does something that we see much more than just this one clip. He hangs in the air for that extra half a second. That extra time allows him to adjust and score as defenders fly right by at full speed. That’s just Butler’s thing, and I believe that’s the key for that to become Adebayo’s thing.

This is why I mentioned earlier that it’s about the small stuff with Butler. All of those things add up, and it leads to him being such an elite player without a primary ability in the game of basketball, shooting.

Put-Back Expert

As we talk about stuff in his game that isn’t discussed frequently, why not dive into his oddly effective ways of being a put-back expert? Put-backs aren’t always an important area to highlight, mostly since it comes with the territory of being a big man.

The difference is that Butler is 6 foot 7, and somehow works that in repeatedly. The reasoning for that is just his basketball IQ, which I will dive into a bit more down the line on the defensive end.

We always discuss his methodical movements, knowing when to speed up the game or slow it down, and that just refers to the word: timing. And that’s why the put-backs have become second nature for him.

Once again, go watch the clip above, but don’t watch Adebayo with the ball, just watch Butler. Most guys sprint to the glass to try and tip it in, which ends in plenty of possessions where the offensive player flies right by the rim as it results in a defensive rebound.

Butler doesn’t speed up here, though. He takes his time as the ball goes up in the air, then explodes upward as soon as it bounces off the rim. This may not seem major, but everything is measured regarding Butler’s play-style.

The Helpful Actions for Downhill Success

There’s always a section on these pieces where we must discuss the utilization of each player. It may not be a huge deal for a team’s best player, since he will obviously be in so many different spots, but there’s a clear outcome for Butler thriving offensively.

When diving into film on Adebayo and Butler, it makes you realize how alike they are within their strengths. The hot topic with Adebayo next season will be running offense for him to get moving downhill, and well, that was where Butler truly thrived this season.

In the first clip, we see the usual DHO from Adebayo, but there are a bunch of layers attached to that. Tyler Herro sets the off-ball screen for Butler to flow into the DHO, while Duncan Robinson sets the back-screen on the big guarding Adebayo. We saw this 3-man set quite a lot this season, with the main option being a Robinson three as he sprinted to the wing for a kick-out.

No kick-out was necessary here, as Buddy Hield, who was originally guarding Robinson, is put in an uncomfortable spot as he’s no longer glued to his defender. An easy lay-in for Butler is the outcome.

The second clip above is very similar, as Butler’s battling to flow downhill and Herro sets the back-screen for him to get to the rim rather easily. As I’ve discussed, a point guard will be necessary to acquire in free agency, but a guy who can play off the ball will be even better for Butler to run stuff like this.

Spoiler alert: a close friend of Butler falls under that category.

The Defensive Skill that Sums It All Up 

There hasn’t been a ton of defensive talk in this article, which is Butler’s best side of the ball, but this one skill sums it all up. He essentially doesn’t have a defensive weakness, but after watching him closely this season on that end of the floor, his defensive IQ clearly lands at number one regarding his strengths.

In my opinion, the best way to discover defensive IQ is positioning and off the ball tendencies. When a defender doesn’t have to be on-ball to be effective, that’s when it becomes impressive.

The play above is a perfect example, since as I’ve mentioned repeatedly throughout the season, he has a special ability to unexpectedly double for a positive result. He notices Naz Reid receive the ball without accounting for his backside, which leaves Butler taking a costly gamble that leads to easy fast-break points.

After this game, I asked Butler about those unexpected doubles specifically, which he responded, “I think you gotta look at who has the ball, right or left handed, what their skill-set is, and I guess some good timing, some timely gambles…If I get them it’s a good thing, if I don’t I gotta here Spo telling me to stop doing it, but I think I got them tonight.”

Once again, every major part of Butler’s game has evolved so fluidly due to all of these small elements coming together. He has already shown what he is capable of on the basketball floor in a Miami Heat uniform, and now it’s time to fill out the roster to get him and this team back into contention.

It’s not hard to find likable characters to put next to Butler, since he just wants one thing: guys who care as much as he does. And once they find that after a resting period this off-season, it’s pretty clear they will be back.

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Everything Tradeshows is a one-stop-shop for trade show exhibit rentals and custom exhibit display purchase solutions to companies of all sizes.

Visit them at EverythingTradeShows or call 954-791-8882