Miami Heat: Jimmy Butler scores 21 during his debut game in South Beach
The Miami Heat came into Tuesday night’s game seeking to get back on track after losing to Minnesota. They did just that in Jimmy Butler’s debut game.
The Miami Heat must have entered Tuesday night’s game, the first of two games against the Atlanta Hawks across three days, with a certain level of angst and excitement about the squad. This excitement was probably solely due to one thing and one thing only. Jimmy Butler was about to play his first game as a member of the Miami Heat.
Fresh off a three-game absence to open the season due to the birth of his daughter, Jimmy Butler was in the starting lineup, which sent Tyler Herro back to the bench. The starting lineup remained somewhat the same as the previous three games, with Justise Winslow, Kendrick Nunn, Bam Adebayo, and Meyers Leonard all slotting in alongside Butler.
Butler started to impose his will early and often, getting to the basket and as a result, getting to the line. He would end up shooting a total of 15 free throws, sinking 10 of them. He wasn’t the only Miami Heat player making his way to the charity stripe on a regular basis though.
The man he sent back to the bench in Tyler Herro also had himself a game, one that contributed 16 free throw attempts to his stat line. He made 12 of the 16 attempts, on his way to 29 huge points.
The game itself wasn’t that exciting. The Miami Heat practically led from the first quarter on. Most will say this was caused by a nasty Trae Young ankle injury at the very beginning of the second quarter, but based on his scoreless first quarter along with his five-point, 2-3 field goal, 1-3 from the three stat line up until that point, Miami would have likely been able to win the game regardless.
The Miami Heat will head to Atlanta on Thursday to face these same Hawks. Trae Young’s status is up in the air as of now, with reports suggesting he is to have an MRI on Wednesday.
dark. Next. After week one, this team looks like they are for real
The Miami Heat will look to take this show on the road, where they should be looking to get another win. If this game was any indication, things are looking good.