Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler Had A Quiet Night In His Return Against New Orleans Pelican

Usually, a quiet night from Jimmy Butler would be a bad omen for how the game turned out.

However, the Miami Heat received high-quality production from several players. It also helped they were facing the worst team in the league in the New Orleans Pelicans.

Butler finished with nine points, four rebounds, and two assists on 60 percent shooting and 50 percent from three-point range.

Butler did not need to do much in his 24 minutes of play in his first game back, mainly because Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo had dominant games. He had the third-lowest usage rate out of the nine players who played for the Heat in their victory against the Pelicans.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spoke after the game about why Butler didn’t play in the fourth quarter after the game.

“I mean, 13 days is a long time away, and I just went with the group there in the fourth that was giving us the most and to see if that group could close it out,” Spoelstra said.

It was good Butler could rest much more than usual, considering this was the first night of a back-to-back. The Heat play the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, and as the Magic deal with injuries, they can inch closer to the No. 4 seed in the East. The Heat will likely need Butler much more against the Pacers.

Bryan Townes is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X @bryantownesjr11. Follow our coverage on Facebook.