Can “Playoff Jimmy” come into his own at a time when Tyler Herro is hurt, Bam Adebayo is having trouble, and the absence of a fellow superstar may be catching up?
Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is stuck in an unexpected, atypical slump after earning the nickname “Playoff Jimmy” through years of heroics in the latter stages of the season. The Heat have now dropped from sixth to eighth place in the East after losing four games in a row.
All this does is reinforce the myth that Miami follows “Playoff Jimmy” wherever he goes. Can “Playoff Jimmy” come up at a time when Bam Adebayo is having trouble, Tyler Herro is hurt, and the loss of a fellow superstar might be catching up with the playoffs quickly approaching?
In the event that the response is negative, an early playoff exit may be imminent. That might occur following the Heat’s 100-88 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, in which Butler managed a pitiful 15 points, including four in the fourth quarter. Butler has scored eighteen points a game on average over the last four games.
This is alarming since, since the 2020–21 season, when he averaged 14.5 points per game from March 19–26, he hasn’t had a run of four games in March that bad. The Heat were eliminated in the first round less than two months later. During the Butler era, that was the first occasion they failed to make it past the first round.
Butler’s recent performance is concerning, but it’s also a result of Adebayo’s recent difficulties.
Adebayo hasn’t scored more than 18 points in the last four games and has only shot 11 of 22 (or 50%) from the field. Adebayo went 1-for-9 with four turnovers in Sunday’s home defeat to the lottery-bound Washington Wizards, and Miami was outscored by 18 points when he was on the court. Adebayo might not come out of hiding if he is unable to break free from this rut.
The Heat really need “Playoff Jimmy” and an improved Adebayo.
Butler led the Heat to the NBA Finals in 2019–20, and Adebayo’s defensive play and 121.6 offensive rating were key factors. A similar idea was applied in 2021–2022 when Adebayo led the Heat to the Eastern Conference finals with an offensive rating of 119.7. Butler’s outstanding play by itself won’t be enough for the Heat to advance that far again.
Butler is not being disparaged here. If it weren’t for Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant probably would have three rings rather than five. However, if Adebayo keeps up his poor playmaking, the paint will simply get clogged, which will stop Butler from going for a downhill attack.
These problems are only made worse by Tyler Herro’s foot injury. The Heat are 1-4 against playoff contenders since Herro’s injury on February 25. In those four games, they have averaged 98 points. Their lowest total since November of the previous season was the 88 points they scored on Sunday.
Butler can’t afford to score just eighteen points a game without Herro, who scores twenty points a night on average. When Butler scores fewer than 26 points in a game, the Heat are 0-5 during this current seven-game run.
Granted, the four losses were against the top 10 defensive-rated teams. However, Butler had to overcome that level of opposition in order to earn the nickname “Playoff Jimmy” in the first place. Herro will therefore probably miss the following four games, so a remedy needs to be found as soon as possible. Kevin Love, a shooting forward for the Heat, is expected to miss four games as well (heel). It might already be too late if Butler is unable to make that correction when the Heat play five playoff teams from March 18–26.
This would only serve to highlight the necessity for the Heat to pair Butler with a superstar. Butler wouldn’t be under as much pressure if a trade for Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Donovan Mitchell, or Kevin Durant was completed.
All those players were capable of setting up goals for themselves. As a result, Butler, 34, wouldn’t have to play with tremendous energy expenditure in order to maintain his fitness for the season’s last stretch.
The reason Butler only made one field goal against the Nuggets on Wednesday night in the fourth quarter could have been due to a lack of energy.
Tim Legler of ESPN delivered a scathing review on the “ALL NBA” podcast, stating, “At no point did he try to put his foot on the gas last night.”
Over the years, Butler has drawn criticism on multiple occasions. He’s hardly rarely, if ever, been sent off for “not putting his foot on the gas.” Ask Karl-Anthony Towns, please.
Nevertheless, shouldn’t Butler be given the benefit of the doubt despite all of these difficulties?
The same Butler who fired up 56 points and 42 points in the first round to send the Milwaukee Bucks, the top seed, packing, then went on to demolish the Knicks and Celtics to lead the eighth-seeded Heat to the NBA Finals.
Butler is one of only six NBA players in history to have participated in at least 100 postseason games, average more points, rebounds, and assists, and improve their shooting from the regular season to the postseason. The remaining five? Bryon Russell, Robert Horry, Ben Wallace, James Worthy, and Hakeem Olajuwon.
“This is the Jimmy that everyone looks forward to at the end of the season,” Adebayo said to ESPN during the playoffs the previous year. “Y’all see sparks of it during the regular season and he’s one of those players in the playoffs, he can turn it on.”
In such sharp contrast to Legler’s most recent remarks: “I have trouble being ‘Playoff Jimmy.'” When they needed you like last night, what about Jimmy from the regular season?
With 17 games remaining and a tough seven-game stretch ahead, Butler needs to change into “Playoff Jimmy.” even though it might not be realistic to expect him to.
Butler wrote, “It’s that time,” as the caption on a recent Instagram photo.
After all, the Heat are 4-5.
