Miami Heat going anywhere if Jimmy Butler is not leading?
Q: The best player on the team (Jimmy Butler) doesn’t want to be the first option. The sooner Terry Rozier or Tyler Herro recognize that, the better. – Black.
A: Jimmy Butler very much wants to be the first option . . . in the playoffs. It is against that backdrop that the Heat have to find someone to do more now, so Jimmy can do more later . . . if there is a later. That’s what makes this puzzle so complex, as if there are two Jimmy Butlers, the one who defers during the regular season and the one hellbent for success in the playoffs. Wednesday night was a glaring example. It was a moment the Heat needed some of the best of Butler, and wound up with something far less. Perhaps it was the illness that kept him out of practice on Tuesday. Or perhaps it simply was the conservation effort that has defined his Heat career. It was a night when good simply wasn’t going to be good enough.
Q: The Heat seem to have a very competitive lineup but remain as Jimmy Butler said a very average team. What are they missing to get to the next level? Is it a power forward? A banger? – Stephen, Delray Beach.
A: As with the question above, what they need is a regular-season alpha dog. Perhaps that would/could be Tyler Herro if healthy. You could see at the ends of recent games how having a creator available could have made a significant difference. The Heat needed more than 17 points in Wednesday’s fourth quarter. That’s what Jimmy does in the playoffs. That’s what Tyler can do during the regular season.
Q: Damn play-in again is gonna be rough – Mark.
A: Especially if at Indiana in the first game, then having to come home to beat Chicago or Atlanta in a winner-take-all game. Chicago arguably is in a better place heading into the postseason than last season, when they led the Heat in that all-or-nothing game in the fourth quarter. And remember, No. 8 gets the Celtics in the first round.
