Jimmy Butler alone isn't enough to fix one of the Heat's biggest roster flaws

Let’s open up the Miami Heat mailbag! Here’s one from @Gr8_JayR on X…

"In all of your potential starting 5s, who is guarding the best guard or wing on the other team?"

Here’s how each of the Heat’s qualified players graded out in terms of perimeter isolation defense last season, as measured by Bball Index.

Expected: Highsmith, Adebayo, Martin and Butler being near the top of this list. 

Perhaps unexpected: Jaime Jaquez Jr. being that low and Terry Rozier being that high.

For those watching closely, Jaquez getting a D grade as a one-on-one perimeter defender shouldn’t be surprising. We covered that topic more here, but Jaquez was much better as a help/team defender than in isolation against top scorers.

Heat coaches often expressed confidence in Rozier’s defense. His A- grade here is slightly misleading since BBall Index gave him a D+ grade for his overall defense. Rozier competes when he’s matched up 1 on 1, but he also received a C- grade in screen navigation and a D+ in passing lane defense. The eye test confirms. Rozier is a solid situational defender, but that’s about it.

The Heat can't rely only on Jimmy Butler to defend top scorers.

Unless Jaquez takes an enormous leap on this end, Miami will be left with Highsmith, Butler and Adebayo as its ace rotation defenders. 

(Martin, of course, is no longer around. Richardson is trustworthy off the bench, but it’s unclear if he will factor into the nightly rotation.)

If the Heat mostly play lineups with Adebayo at center as expected, then No. 13 will have his hands full with opposing bigs. This could be an argument to play Bam with another center like rookie Kel’el Ware or have 6-foot-10 Nikola Jovic spend time defending centers, but that doesn’t feel like an option outside of a few token minutes a night.

That leaves Butler and Highsmith.

Butler is capable of defending the best wings in the NBA. He’s a hard-nosed defender who gives up no quarter. But with Butler recently turning 35 and already dealing with availability issues, do the Heat really want him taking the short straw on defense on a nightly basis?

This is my argument for starting Highsmith. The league has too many good perimeter scorers to rely solely on Butler as a stopper (and trying to out-score teams isn’t a viable option).

Within the first month of the schedule, the Heat will face Orlando’s Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, New York’s Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges, Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox and DeMar DeRozan, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, Philadelphia’s Paul George and Tyrese Maxey and Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

The Heat need at least two high-quality defenders on the court to start the game, and probably for most of the night.

Handing Highsmith the responsibility of defending DeRozan, Durant, Haliburton and George will help preserve Butler and minimize weak points that opponents can attack in Miami’s defense.

If Butler is the straw that stirs the Heat’s drink, then they need him at his two-way best. Playing Highsmith alongside him could be a way to do that.