The Miami Heat still have a ton of work to do as the NBA playoffs are on the horizon. Still working to secure their own positioning in the playoff standings, the Miami Heat will need a little help from the two teams above them in said standings to get where they want to be—which is out of the NBA’s Playoff Play-In territory.
But with great opportunities to help the helpers (pun intended), meaning to help those teams lose games in a proactive fashion, in recent days and in the immediately coming future, the Miami Heat do have a little bit of control over their fate when it comes to how they’ll finish in relation to the two New York teams slotted above them.
And you can be sure that the team believes they’ll make good use of those opportunities. However, that belief hasn’t fully begun to spread among those on the outside of that building though.
Trending back up on the offensive side of the ball since the All-Star break, though they came out, shooting it on a below-the-floor level for the first several games, the Miami Heat have proceeded to become a team that leans on the offense now more than their defense.
The Miami Heat are trying to round into shape as the NBA Playoffs are on the horizon. With that, Jimmy Butler is beginning to transform as well.
Specifically, they were among the best defensive teams earlier in the year, while their offense was near the bottom of the league.
And among the offensive explosion though, has been their best player, Jimmy Butler. And if you really want to say something, you could say that he’s, arguably, been one of the best players in the league since the All-Star break.
Jimmy Butler is averaging 26.3 points per game on 60.5 percent shooting from the field since the All-Star break. Like, what exactly is this ...
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) March 23, 2023
And if you look at several of his showings since the break for the Miami Heat, it tells just that story. Going for over 30 four times, over 25 eight times, and nearly triple-doubling four or five times in the span since then, he’s beginning to peak at the right time.
So, what does it all mean?
Well, when you also consider all that you’ve seen from Jimmy Butler during his Miami Heat tenure, including the NBA Finals run and another deep run throughout the Eastern Conference last season, it should become pretty clear.
When the lights are on the brightest and on the biggest of stages that exist, Jimmy Butler will show up in magnificent fashion. And based on his last few showings, he’s making you want to believe that something special just might be possible—maybe?