ASK IRA: Is playoff-payoff-or-bust a dangerous game for Heat at Jimmy Butler’s price point?
Has Jimmy Butler become too much of a Miami Heat playoff specialist?
Q: Jimmy Butler is not the best player on his team too many nights for what he is paid. I don’t give a (bad word) about five or six playoff games a year, since it never amounted to a ring. He is so average too many times per year and does not make others better. They all play better when he’s out or not holding the ball – P.M.
A: No, he makes teammates better with his assist and defense help, so let’s not allow that to get lost in the Jimmy Butler equation. But with all the missed time annually, and with all the meandering through certain regular-season games, it comes down to what it always comes down to with Jimmy Butler: You are paying him for the playoffs. Jimmy’s salary is what any team would pay a player if it knew the investment would mean advancing to the conference finals in four of his five seasons under contract. So you can look at it as Jimmy Butler perhaps not being worth the $551,000 he is being paid per game (even those he doesn’t play) over the 82-game regular season. Or you could look at it as the $3.7 million he gets paid for each of the 12 victories in the first three rounds of the playoffs. So, yes, if no playoff success, then money that can be questioned. Therefore, we remain in a holding pattern with the 2023-24 assessment.
Q: Can we all admit that the Patty Mills experience has failed? – Aviv, Miami.
A: Not if you can appreciate that the reason he was signed was for insurance, and not to be the starter he has had to be the past two games, plus the role he had in previous games. With Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson available, Patty Mills stands as insurance, perhaps called upon to hit one or two big shots. This high-usage role was not what was envisioned when he signed.
Q: Interesting how now if you watch games closely, when the Heat go zone, teams move the ball, flash someone in the middle, and generally are getting good shots. They’ve figured it out. Meanwhile, the Pelicans throw a zone at the Heat and players immediately start chucking up 3s. – Douglas.
A: The difference is when the Heat go zone, other teams have put enough 3-point shooters on the floor to at least create gaps, creases and seams in the zone. With the way the Heat were shooting 3-pointers on Friday night, and with whom they had available for those 3-pointers, New Orleans might have played as tightly packed a zone as we have seen this season, which also aided with their huge advantage on the boards. Basically, the Pelicans were more than willing to allow Cole Swider to try to beat them over the top.