It’s the two most feared words in the NBA today.
Jimmy. Butler.
The Heat took a 1–0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals with a 123–116 home-court-advantage-stealing win in TD Garden on Wednesday. They did it with Bam Adebayo’s force. Kyle Lowry’s shooting. Erik Spoelstra’s coaching brilliance.
And, most importantly, Butler.
It was 35 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Butler on Wednesday. He was 12-of-25 from the floor. He was 2-of-4 from three. He went to the free throw line 10 times and made nine of them. He picked up six steals and was part of a defensive effort that held Boston’s All-NBA wings, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, to 40 points. At halftime, Miami trailed Boston by nine. After a 46-point third quarter—19 of which were scored or assisted on by Butler—the Heat led by 12.
“That's what he does,” said Lowry. “He's one of the best players in the world for a reason.”
Are we even surprised by Miami anymore? By Butler? The Heat throttled Milwaukee in the first round—becoming just the sixth eighth-seed to topple a No. 1 seed in doing it—blitzed the Knicks and now have an early series lead against the Celtics. The fringy playoff contender that got run at home by Atlanta in the play-in tournament has morphed into the NBA’s most unstoppable force.
“We are just playing really good basketball,” said Butler. “More than anything, we are staying together, through the good and through the bad. I think that’s what ultimately makes me smile is the fact when things are not going our way, we can look at each other eye to eye and know when somebody is messing around, and we can fix it.”
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In the first half the Heat, as a whole, were messing around. Miami had nine turnovers in the first two quarters. Boston scored 40 points in the paint. Several times, Spoelstra noted, the Celtics had opportunities to push the lead even further.
They didn’t. And Miami took advantage. There was no halftime speech. “There was actually not a whole lot to be said,” said Spoelstra. No major adjustment. “We just shored up a little bit of stuff on both ends of the court,” said Spoelstra. That the deficit was just nine gave the Heat confidence. Said Spoelstra, “We just started to chip away at it, finally got the lead and were able to take control from there.”
They took it. But Boston gave it away, too. The third quarter was a disaster. The Celtics’ vaunted defense was shredded. Miami shot 65.4% from the floor and 66.7% from three. Max Strus (13 points) got hot. Adebayo (nine points) did, too. Kevin Love (remember him?) made a couple of shots. And with Miami on a head-spinning run, Joe Mazzulla didn’t call a single timeout to stop it.
Not one.
Mazzulla’s use of timeouts has been a season-long story line. He doesn’t like to use them. Prefers to save them. Not since Phil Jackson has an NBA coach allowed players to play through rough stretches. His decision not to call timeout in the closing seconds of Game 4 in the Philadelphia series resulted in the Celtics failing to get a shot off. Not calling for one in the third quarter Wednesday prevented Boston from slowing Miami’s momentum.
Asked afterward why he didn’t call any timeouts in the third, Mazzulla noted he had taken two in the first quarter.
Asked specifically about the third, Mazzulla said, “Don't call two in the first quarter. Save it for the third-quarter run.”
The Spoelstra-Mazzulla matchup is noteworthy. Already Spoelstra has outmaneuvered Mike Budenholzer and Tom Thibodeau. Now he gets Mazzulla. Boston has more firepower than Miami. Better defenders. More perimeter scoring. But Miami has Spoelstra, whose junk defenses, disciplined game plans and shrewd in-game adjustments make a difference. Mazzulla doesn’t have to outcoach Spoelstra. But he can’t be exposed by him.
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Miami is here to win. They have good shooters—the Heat shot 51.6% from three—a physical interior defender and a built-for-the-playoffs scorer. Butler’s game is Kobe Bryant–esque. He’s not a volume three-point shooter. He looks for his spot, he gets to his spot and he makes most of his shots when he gets there. Tatum is a big, long defender. Derrick White was recently named to an NBA All-Defensive team. Marcus Smart is a former Defensive Player of the Year. At various points Wednesday, Butler bulldozed through all of them.
“He just gets to his strength zones,” Spoelstra said. “That’s a talent unto itself. He’s also willing to make the right play over and over and over. If it happens to be a pass, he’s not playing for numbers. He’s playing to try to help the offense get the best possible high-percentage shot. That’s a different language.”
Added Lowry, “It’s not all about him. He’s about our group and our team and everyone else.”
For Boston, Game 2 has become a must-win. An 0–2 deficit against this team will be fatal. It must be the physical, dribble-penetrating team from the first half of Game 1 and not the timid, low-percentage shot-taking version that played out in the second. Regular-season failures have hardened Miami. “Adversity built this,” said Adebayo. They know no one believes in them. And they don’t care.
“The best part about it is we still don’t care what none of y’all think, honestly speaking,” said Butler. “We don’t care if you pick us to win. We never have. We never will. We know the group of guys we have in this locker room. We know that Coach Spo puts so much confidence and belief in each and every one of us. Coach Pat [Riley] as well. Our circle is small, but the circle got so much love for one another. We pump constant confidence into everybody. We go out there and we hoop and we play basketball the right way, knowing that we’ve always got a chance.”
