Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat are the kings of clutch this season
By Duncan Smith
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat are alone in second place in the Eastern Conference, and their outstanding play in close games is to thank for that.
The Miami Heat have gotten off to a stunning 24-8 start to the season and sit alone in second place in the Eastern Conference. Thanks to Jimmy Butler and their clutch play in close games, they’ve set themselves apart from the pack in surprising fashion.
The last three games in particular have been critical wins in close games. The Heat have defeated the Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers by a combined five points over the past week, all at home.
Not a bad stretch against three playoff teams.
The body of work for the Miami Heat’s play in the clutch is remarkable so far. They’ve played 14 games that have qualified as “clutch” (as defined by the NBA as within five points in the final five minutes), and they’re an impressive 11-3 in those games.
While five teams have more clutch wins than the Heat (including the Jazz, Sixers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets), no team has fewer losses in the clutch than the Heat. They’re tied with the mighty Milwaukee Bucks with three losses each.
Neither their offense or defense have been top-tier in those critical late minutes, as their offensive rating is eighth at 113.7 and their defensive rating is 16th at 105.1, but in spite of an 11th-best net rating of +8.6, it’s been enough.
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Their execution has been flawless, their ball control has been off the charts. They only turn the ball over 5.5 percent of the time, a far cry from their overall turnover percentage of 16.2 percent (third-worst in the NBA).
Their opportunism on defense and in transition has been otherworldly, as proven by Jimmy Butler’s two steals in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter of their overtime win over the Sixers on Saturday night.
The Miami Heat have also been especially excellent at home in the clutch.
They’re 6-1 in these games at home, with the third-best offensive rating at 132.1 and the sixth-best net rating at +24.9 (the defensive rating is nothing to write home about at 107.1). They take care of the ball even better at home than on the road, turning it over just four percent of the time.
Finally, their dominance in overtime is almost comical. In a league-leading six overtime games, they are 6-0, and they are outscoring their opponents 73-33 in those 30 minutes. Averaged out over a 48 minute game, that’s a score of 116.8 to 52.8.
The Miami Heat’s net rating in overtime is +66.4.
Of course, clutch time and overtime are a crapshoot. Generally speaking the better team can be expected to execute better and win, but their chances are much lower than they would be at the start of a full 48-minute game.
These games are decided by a couple of shots or bounces, and are so close to a 50-50 chance that good teams would always prefer to put their opponents away long before clutch time is a factor.
Next. Set it in stone, Bam Adebayo will be an All-Star. dark
However, when you find yourself in a situation where you need a clutch stop or basket, Jimmy Butler and company appear to have mastered the art for the Miami Heat.