How Heat made good on Jimmy Butler’s promise after 2022 disappointment: ‘We’re gonna get it done’
Jimmy Butler knew.
For the second straight year, the Heat went to seven games with the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. But this year, Miami beat Boston to move on, just as Butler predicted a year ago.
After the Heat lost to the Celtics in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, Butler had a prediction that under normal circumstances would just be brushed off as hopeful posturing:
“I think we had enough — I think we do have enough — it sucks because like, you don’t know who’s gonna be on a roster on any given year,” Butler told reporters last season. “Like I said, I’m just grateful for the opportunity for the guys I did have the opportunity to play with to play with. … So we had enough. Next year we will have enough. And we gonna right back in the this same situation. And we’re gonna get it done.”
“Next year, we will have enough, and we’re gonna be right be right back in this same situation and we’re gonna get it done.”
– Jimmy Butler 1 year ago after losing game 7 of the ECF to Boston… he called his shot
— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) May 30, 2023
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It was a long, winding road to get back to this point. Butler probably didn’t expect the Heat — the No. 1 seed in last year’s playoffs — to be back as an eight-seeded underdog. He also probably didn’t expect the Celtics to battle back from being down 3-0 in the series, while he had to calmly say everything was going to be fine as the Celtics drew it to 3-3.
But in Game 7, the Heat did have enough to make Butler’s prediction come true, notching a 103-84 win that they dominated in wire to wire.
Heat playoff roster, stats for 2022 vs. 2023
What, to Butler, is “enough?” The 2023 Heat ended up looking different from 2022 around the edges, thanks to both injuries and some offseason changes.
Here’s a look at the playoff roster from both seasons with points per game in the postseason. Note that Tyler Herro has only appeared in one game and Victor Oladipo in two games in the 2023 playoffs.
| Player | 2023 PPG | 2022 PPG |
| Jimmy Butler | 28.5 | 27.4 |
| Bam Adebayo | 16.8 | 14.8 |
| Caleb Martin | 14.1 | 4.5 |
| Gabe Vincent | 13.1 | 8.0 |
| Tyler Herro | 12.0 | 12.6 |
| Victor Oladipo | 11.5 | 10.6 |
| Max Strus | 10.3 | 10.9 |
| Duncan Robinson | 9.3 | 5.6 |
| Kyle Lowry | 8.8 | 7.8 |
| Kevin Love | 6.9 | — |
| Haywood Highsmith | 3.2 | 1.1 |
| Cody Zeller | 2.6 | — |
| Omer Yurtseven | 0.7 | 2.8 |
| Nikola Jovic | 0.4 | — |
| Udonis Haslem | 0.0 | — |
| P.J. Tucker | — | 7.9 |
| Dewayne Dedmon | — | 3.8 |
| Markieff Morris | — | 0.0 |
Seeing these rosters side-by-side, Butler was clearly right: The Heat did have enough.
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By the time Game 7 rolled around, Erik Spoelstra was using a similar core to last season in a shortened rotation. The Heat didn’t go crazy about overhauling the roster after last season’s disappointing finish, but they clearly didn’t have to.
Now, the Heat turn their attention to the Nuggets in the NBA Finals, who will inevitably be favored.
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However, the Heat have done well playing from the bottom thus far. Perhaps they’ll continue to be successful just as Butler predicted against the unstoppable two-man game of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic.
Published at Tue, 30 May 2023 15:26:08 +0000
