Jimmy Butler takes the blame for Miami Heat’s embarrassing loss in Game 2
MIAMI — When the Boston Celtics are making every 3-pointer and the best player on the court is also the guy running around on one foot and the deficit is 25 before the halftime show even starts, everyone is to blame and no one is to blame.
Seriously, what tactical correction can be gleaned from a 127-102 Game 2 loss for the Miami Heat when everything the Celtics did seemed to work and nothing the Heat tried made much of an impact?
The way Boston so thoroughly dominated this series-tying game in the Eastern Conference finals was reminiscent of what Miami did to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 5 of the previous series. The Heat’s 35-point win was so complete and so one-sided that Sixers coach Doc Rivers said there wasn’t anything constructive his players or coaches could take from it.
That game for the Sixers, and this one for the Heat, is the kind the losing side should just move on from.
Except, Jimmy Butler, the one bright spot for Miami — its best player in Game 2, and in this series, and in the playoffs — did have an X’s and O’s suggestion for Game 3, which is Saturday night in Boston.
His idea sounded counterintuitive because, following his 29 points in three quarters in Game 2 — the sixth consecutive game in which he’s led Miami in scoring — he has scored 70 points in two games against the Celtics.
He thinks he needs to pass.
“I think I have to do a better job of getting everybody else involved, if I’m being brutally honest,” Butler said. “I have to find that fine medium, that fine line in between when to be aggressive and when to make sure that I can get guys open.”
Butler, for perhaps the first time since Kyle Lowry suffered what’s become a lingering hamstring injury, acknowledged that without Lowry on the court, Butler has to do two jobs. He is the team’s primary scorer, but he also has to facilitate the offense in Lowry’s place — make sure the ball doesn’t stick and create shots for teammates. His three assists were the lowest total in his past five games and only one sign that the other Heat shooters were not involved.
Gabe Vincent, Lowry’s replacement, opined that the Heat had gotten out of their schemes and did not pass with their usual vigor.
“That’s on me,” Butler said. “I don’t think that’s on Spo (coach Erik Spoelstra). I don’t think that’s on Bam (Adebayo). I think it’s my job, because I got the ball a lot of the times, to make sure that everybody is comfortable and getting the shots that they need to have.”
Asked whether he had gotten away from doing Lowry’s job in Game 2, Butler said he had.
“I think I got a bit selfish on the offensive end,” he said.
Butler took 18 shots in Game 2. Vincent, the Heat’s second-leading scorer in Game 2 with 14 points, attempted 10, and Tyler Herro, Miami’s second-leading scorer behind Butler all season, tried 11 shots.
The Celtics are swarming defensively, contesting every shot, mixing and matching with switches and fighting through screens. They routinely beat the Heat to spots, cutting off driving lanes and closing out on 3-point shooters.
Butler is scoring, but he’s having to work to get there. He’s creating his own opportunities. In Game 1, 17 of his 41 points came at the foul line.
Because of the Celtics’ staunch defense, Spoelstra said Butler was going to have to bail out the Heat offense and make those shot-clock-grinding, offense-stalling, one-on-one plays when the inevitable breakdown occurs. But the Heat will not win this series if their second-leading scorer is Vincent. Adebayo (six shots) or Max Strus (seven shots) or perhaps Victor Oladipo (he scored 14 points but a bunch of it was in garbage time) has to contribute.
Butler vowed to get those players more involved.
“I just have to set better screens, attack more, touch the paint and look to kick the ball out even sometimes when I do have a layup, just because that is the right basketball play and somebody is more than often going to be open,” he said.
“That’s on me. I’ll watch the film and, I promise you, I will figure it out. But I’ll get these guys open.”
As the Heat ripped through the Eastern Conference playoffs, a lot of praise was heaped on Butler because of his six games of 30 or more points and three of at least 40 points. And because he was also serving as the Heat’s floor general without Lowry, and also because he was fulfilling his usual role as a key cog in Miami’s defensive juggernaut. So it was admirable for him to take the blame after a game that was so bad that it’s difficult for an outsider to see through the smoke and find only one culprit.
The Heat would seem to be in a considerable amount of trouble. Marcus Smart returned from his sprained foot and dominated, way beyond his 24 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. The Celtics put Smart on Butler for a large part of the game, and Butler managed just nine points in 31 possessions against him, according to Second Spectrum tracking data.
“Jimmy is a warrior, man,” Smart said. “Jimmy has been doing this for a long time. He understands the game. He understands his strengths. He understands his team’s strengths. So when you have a guy who has an IQ like Jimmy, it’s always going to be a tough matchup. It’s a good one. I love going up against Jimmy anytime I can.”
Lowry is thick enough and experienced enough to counter Smart when the Celtics have the ball, and his presence on offense would give Boston pause in directing Smart toward Butler. But Lowry has missed eight of the past 10 playoff games, and as of Thursday night, the Heat did not sound optimistic about his return for Game 3.
What’s worse, P.J. Tucker left Thursday’s game with a knee bruise and will seek an MRI on Friday morning. If he can’t play in Game 3, Butler and Adebayo are left as the two credible defenders the Heat would have to try to check not only Smart but also Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
“I look at it as it can’t get too much worse,” Butler said. “They whipped our tail on our home floor. I guess if they do it on their home floor, it’s supposed to happen, but I don’t see us doing that again.”
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
