Miami Heat wing Jimmy Butler entered Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday night against the Denver Nuggets as the most valuable player of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
That’s not really in question. Miami made it out of the Play-In Tournament and into the NBA Finals riding Butler’s epic performances on a nightly basis.
From averaging 49 points in the final two games of Miami’s first-round upset over the Milwaukee Bucks to a 28-point outing in a closeout Game 7 win over the Boston Celtics in the conference finals, the stage has not proven to be too big for Butler.
Until now.
Playing tentatively Thursday night in Denver, Butler continually passed on open shots. He didn’t look comfortable from out on the perimeter and failed to push the ball into the low-post (zero free throw attempts).
The end result was Buckets putting up unfamiliar numbers.
- Jimmy Butler stats (Game 1): 13 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 6-of-14 shooting
Miami finished minus-17 in Butler’s 38 minutes of action. In the 10 minutes that he sat, the Eastern Conference champs were plus-6. That was one of the major differences in a 104-93 road loss.
As major underdogs heading into this one, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Miami lost Game 1 in Denver. The team has proven consistently over the course of the playoffs that it will respond from losses. Coming back and winning Game 7 in Boston after losing three consecutive in the Eastern Conference Finals is a prime example of this.
However, it’s Butler’s unassuming ways and overall performance that has to be concerning to head coach Erik Spoelstra.
Related: Five takeaways from Denver Nuggets Game 1 win over Miami Heat
Jimmy Butler must take control for the Miami Heat
In games that Butler scored north of 25 points in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Heat were 9-1. When he did not reach that plateau, Miami boasted a 3-4 mark.
Aggressiveness from Butler has also been a major common denominator. He averaged 14 shot attempts during the regular season. That number had increased to nearly 21 thus far in the playoffs. Without a true No. 2-scoring option, Butler knew he needed to take on that lead role even more.
“Maybe I got to be a little more aggressive. I got to put more pressure on the rim. Me without any free throws, it’s completely on me,” Jimmy Butler following Game 1.
We simply did not see this in Game 1 Thursday night. Adebayo is solid in his own right. But having him take 25 shots compared to 14 from Butler just didn’t make sense. Heck, Gabe Vincent matched Butler in shot attempts. As far as scoring, Adebayo (26), Vincent (19) and Haywood Highsmith (18) all dropped more than Jimmy Butler. Highsmith entered Game 1 having averaged 3.2 points per game in the playoffs.
Without Butler attacking and playing the league dog role, lesser options struggled. Caleb Martin, Max Strus and Duncan Robinson combined to shoot 2-of-23 from the field. If any of the three would’ve matched what we’ve seen from them at times during the NBA Playoffs, Game 1 might have ended in a different manner.
But that doesn’t discount how successful Miami has been when Butler is more aggressive as the primary scorer.
“I play for Mr. O’Brien. You can take the All-Stars. You can take the All-NBA. All defensive team. I don’t care. I really only want to win a championship,” Jimmy Butler said ahead of Game 1.
If that is indeed the case, Butler needs to become the true alpha in the NBA Finals. Playing a secondary role against Eastern Conference competition at times is one thing. Going up against two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and a top-seeded Denver Nuggets team is another thing.
It’s simple. Jimmy Butler needs to play at a high level as the lead dog in order for Miami to continue this amazing run and hoist that Larry O’Brien. Continued performances like we saw in Game 1 just won’t cut it regardless of what the role players do.