These 4 Heat players are showing why they are part of the post-Jimmy Butler era

The Miami Heat had won four of their last five games until they allowed the Indiana Pacers to walk into their house and put their feet up. This team will win a few, lose a few, beat great teams, and lose to tanking ones. Just enjoy the ride.

That said, the Jimmy Butler ride is ending soon, one way or another. Fully unleashing the young pups on this roster doesn't have much downside. With or without Jimmy, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo aren't taking this band of guys to the promised land-- the Heat may as well tinker with everything because they'll stay in the East hunt regardless. 

1. It's time to take the training wheels off Kel'el Ware
2. Nikola Jovic won't leave the rotation for the foreseeable future
3. Haywood Highsmith is quietly one of the most valuable Heat players
4. Bam Adebayo's jumper has to come alive to better Miami long-term
5. Is it fair to question Jimmy Butler's on-court effort?

It's time to take the training wheels off Kel'el Ware

Patience is a virtue. The Miami Heat practiced patience with Kel'el Ware. The franchise has slowly worked him into the rotation as the team competes for a playoff spot.

With Jimmy Butler turning up the ante, the youth movement shifts to the No. 1 priority. Patience suggests Bam Adebayo and Ware won't coexist—yet, at least. The fit is clunky on paper, as teams dare both to shoot.

[Read More: Jimmy Butler won. Miami Heat must grant him his wish and trade him.}

Ware's shot looked real against the Indiana Pacers. He fired three after three with a hand in his face or wide open. Shooting an open three can be as nerve-racking as a contested 3 for some players. That open space can make one second-guess themselves. Not Ware. He consistently shot open 3s like a seasoned wing who gets paid to shoot it.

This miss tells you all you need to know—there's no hesitation, and defenses will shift course if the accuracy continues.

Granted, most of his 3s came in garbage time during his 25-point 3-block outburst. But the shot looks smooth and sustainable. Accounting for the entirety of Ware's short career, his shot hasn't looked this good, but we're here now. Let's rock.

The offense may be a mud-fest with those two sharing the floor right now (but there is an upside if Ware's shot is real paired with Bam's passing and IQ). We have nothing to lose, so let's see what type of force that defense could be. I don't want to see them starting together, just short stints to impose their will defensively.

Ware dominated backups and starters in his career night. Not only were 3s being splashed, but Ware also made Myles Turner look boyish. Turner can't even attempt a clean look on the Rook.

Ware's defensive playmaking is a big bonus in his game. Those highlight blocks that see him sliding down to erase shots would be even more impactful with Bam on the floor. Mistakes come with those highlights-- who's better to clean up those messes than Bam? 

Nikola Jovic won't leave the rotation for the foreseeable future

Erik Spoelstra's decision to bench Nikola Jovic earlier in the season continues to pay dividends. Some argue that Jovic was too integral a piece to leave the rotation, but the fire that's been lit under him sent him surging. 

Jovic's shooting was the topic of conversation last week, but his physicality stood out during a theatric Heat week. 

Jabari Smith Jr. isn't the most rumble-tumble player, but he's a typical 2025 4-man that Jovic totally has his way with on the block. We always preach about Jovic taking advantage of his size, and these flashes keep Heat followers engaged. Postups aren't the most frequent play type in this era compared to the past, but Jovic needs this counter in his game when teams go small against him. He's skilled enough to abuse mismatches. His 0.92 PPP on post-ups isn't a terrible baseline.

Jovic's back-to-back six assists games reminded us why some outlets projected him to be a guard in his draft process. His push-the-pace play and special passing instincts remain paths to in-your-role-stardom.

The Rockets collapse Jovic with a timely double, but in the blink of an eye, he fires a rocket to Haywood Highsmith in the corner of Highsmith's shooting pocket. Jovic has proven he can consistently deliver pinpoint passes when he's flowing—shooters can catch and stride with no adjustments off Jovic dimes. 

Jovic looks like a full-fledged 1990s point forward here-- the spirit of Toni Kukoc lives on. Jovic zipped down the floor, keeping a steady handle while briefly stepping in front of a defender to keep his drive alive. No defense wants to give a 6-foot-10 playmaker an open lane, so they sell out and leave Jaquez for a triple. There are still out-of-control moments from the second-year player, but more good than bad up until the Indiana Pacers game this week.

Lastly, Jovic and another sniper have unlocked a secret chemistry that could be noisy. Per PBP stats, Jovic and Alec Burks had a plus-10 NetRtg in 111 minutes prior to the Pacers shellacking. Both shooters move without the ball and theoretically space the floor in their minutes (B gravity grades per Bball-Index).

Stats like this can be influenced by matchups, low minutes, the strength of opponents, etc., but the eye test matches. These two have a budding connection. 

Haywood Highsmith is quietly one of the most valuable Heat players

The Los Angeles Lakers' acquisition of Dorian Finney-Smith put Haywood Highsmith's value in perspective. He and Finney-Smith are versatile 3-and-D wings teams covet. When games slow down in the postseason, these stoppers are tasked with defending this league's dominant wings/scorers.

This coveted archetype guards across the board. Finney-Smith and Highsmith differ here as DFS is more suited to contain 3, 4, and some 5's, while Highsmith is better defending wings and on-ball creators. Depending on the matchup, Highsmith can take on bigger challenges, which is valuable.

It doesn't get more valuable than shooting 43% from beyond the arc. Three-and-D players of this mold aren't getting seven to eight 3s up every night. They're depended on to hit the open looks, but they're usually one of the later options. Their shot diet varies nightly, but you still want to see Highsmith get his volume to DFS' (3.1 3PA--5.2)

The Heat are not shopping Highsmith. He's young enough, cost-efficient, and a culture guy—not Heat culture in the way the internet loves to troll, but the type of guy you love to have on your side. Highsmith's scrappiness earned him a spot in the starting lineup this year. Kudos to him. Hopefully, he'll be around for the next rendition of the Heat. 

Bam Adebayo's jumper has to come alive to better Miami long-term

When Bam took this stepback three against the New Orleans Pelicans, my first thought was his awareness—not his shooting percentage. The clock's winding down, and Bam is inching between a long two and a 3-pointer. Like any offensive threat in 2025, Bam steps back for three but bricks it.

I'm cool with these shots in a season like this. The Butler stuff presents a perfect opportunity for growth and development with the chance to compete still. Say Butler just evaporated hypothetically, and the Heat had nothing in place for him. This team is still good enough to stay in the weak East playoff race.

With that opportunity at hand, allow Bam to find himself. We thought it would be a linear transition from his hot ending from three last season that flowed into hot shooting at the Olympics, but things don't work like that. He's put in the work from three but missing shots. If Bam is the guy for this team, he needs some semblance of a reliable three due to his size.

This attempt to transform reminds me of Brook Lopez in a way. Bam was never the scorer Lopez was at his peak (Lopez is the Nets' All-Time leading scorer), but Bam does have more touch than he's shown this year. Lopez transformed into the "Splash Mountain" as he's shot 35% from 3 over the last 9 years while he shot 0.97% from three over his first 8 seasons. 

Bam's volume hasn't shot up from tenths to five a game like Lopez's, but this (2.6 3PA) is a massive jump. It's Bam's first season taking these looks all seasons, and I'm for more. Keep firing Bam-- it's a mental thing for him. 

He's still getting open looks but clanking them. Some say, "Duh, he can't shoot," but I say get a full season of reps. That jumper isn't broken—shooting is 50% confidence. 

Is it fair to question Jimmy Butler's on-court effort?

Butler wants out of Miami. The front office doesn't want to pay him. Nothing is new. It's just public now. Shams, who has correctly been calling this thing from Butler's perspective the whole time, suggests there "was an implication from team officials Thursday that he hadn't played his hardest in the Heat's victory Wednesday over the New Orleans Pelicans."

Butler is the third greatest Heat player, and his tenure should be respected for eternity. All that's true, but there's no doubt we didn't get ready-to-rock Jimmy the last two outings. Butler shot 5.5 shots in the previous two, resulting in back-to-back fourth-quarter benchings. 

Erik Spoelstra hasn't been the elite coach this year, trying to make do with a busted roster, but he'd never get into the political games. He made that decision based on basketball, and I can't disagree with him.

A one-legged three cannot be a non-shooter's first attempt of the game. Bam seems to wonder why Butler would take that shot, and he shrugs the question off. Things have seemed out of whack since then. Yes, he's coming back from an illness that held him out of the lineup for 13 days, but shooting shots like that doesn't help your commitment to the team case.

Butler's trying to get his wishes granted—more money on a contender or just out of Miami at this point. It's fair to say he gave up on the court. It's fair to say the front office could've fought harder to get other stars at his best.

It's been more than fun, but it's time for this Butler era to come to an end. We're entering the Herro-Adebayo era. Not everyone thought 14 would outlast Butler in Miami. He's growing nighty, throwing dimes, doing the whole thing. He should be an All-Star lock, and the coaches should acknowledge him as they do on their scouting reports.