Top 100 NBA player rankings gets it right (and wrong) with Heat stars
The 2023-24 Miami Heat roster never reached its full potential. A major factor in this was health, as it proved to be very difficult to get lineup continuity going with key guys being in and out the whole season. That notion got worse come playoff time, when the team sustained season-ending injuries to Jimmy Butler and newly acquired Terry Rozier.
The Heat were top-five in the league in missed games, and that impacted the cohesion of the team. It also impacted individual roles, where a rotation piece would have to take on a bigger workload. For the stars, it would impact offensive and playmaking responsibilities.
Whenever Rozier was out, Tyler Herro had to be more involved with creating offense, rather than being a natural scorer. When Herro was out, Butler had to be more of a scorer than playmaker. When Butler was out, more offense had to run through Bam Adebayo. The injury problems were essentially a domino effect making it difficult for every player on the roster.
Regardless of the difficulties this season brought, the core of the Heat put together some solid individual seasons statistically.
The Ringer recently put together a top 100 player rankings. The piece included three Heat players; Butler, Adebayo and Herro. Let’s dive into those rankings, and assess whether they are too high, too low, or just right.
Jimmy Butler at 19: Just right
Butler came in as the league's 19th-best player, according to The Ringer. Most outlets had him in the 10-15 range going into the season, when he was coming off his 2023 postseason heroics that were enough to catapult him into the category of the league's best. However, the 2023-24 campaign wasn't the same story.
Statistically, Butler still put together a strong season. He averaged 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.3 steals in 49.9% shooting and a career-high 41.4% from 3-point range. Although, outside of the long-range shooting, every one of his stats decreased from the season prior.
The notion that Butler tends to coast during regular seasons came to fruition yet again this year. The star only played 60 games and then went down with a season-ending knee injury during the team’s first play-in game against the Philadelphia 76ers. During his five-year Heat tenure, availability has been limited with him each year.
Despite his "Playoff Jimmy" reputation, Butler's lack of engagement in the regular season is a big reason for Miami having to fight for their playoff lives in the play-in tournament for the second-straight season.
For that reason, a slight dip in his rating to 19 feels warranted.