Not much went right for the Miami Heat in Wednesday’s season-opening loss to the Orlando Magic. But not a lot went wrong for the Heat on Saturday.
The Heat scored 24 points off 20 turnovers, shot 14 of 34 (41.2 percent) from three-point range and racked up 33 assists on 40 made baskets in Saturday night’s 114-106 bounce-back win over the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center. That’s a winning formula for the Heat (1-1 this season), as it improved to 5-1 in the Jimmy Butler era when forcing its opponent into at least 20 turnovers, shooting 40 percent or better on threes and totaling up at least 30 assists all in the same regular-season game.
“Our disposition, physicality, the efforts, that was much better,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said following the win in Charlotte, with the team now back in Miami to begin a quick two-game homestand on Monday against the Detroit Pistons (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network - Sun). “Throughout the course of the game, we would flow in and out of rhythm offensively. But our activity level defensively was pretty consistent all the way through.”
Takeaways from a bounce-back win for the Heat and a bounce-back performance from Jimmy Butler
But most importantly, Butler was at the center of Saturday’s victory after scoring just three points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field against a quality Magic defense in Wednesday’s opener.
Butler, 35, led the Heat past the Hornets with a team-high 26 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, 1-of-3 shooting on threes and 11-of-17 shooting from the foul line, eight rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block. With the Hornets cutting the Heat’s lead to three points in the final minutes of the game, Butler took control late to score 13 fourth-quarter points and nine of the Heat’s final 15 points on Saturday.
“Honestly, just doing all of that and it resulting in a win,” Butler said, downplaying his big night after the victory. “That’s the reason that we all play the game. I’m just happy to get one in the win column.”
But Heat coaches and teammates didn’t downplay Butler’s performance, even if it came against a Hornets defense that’s not expected to be among the NBA’s top units this season. That’s because they know Butler needs to be aggressive and a major part of the offense for the team to be at its best.
Spoelstra praised Butler’s ability to generate 17 free-throw attempts on Saturday after he took just two free throws in Wednesday’s opener. The Heat improved to 10-3 when Butler has taken at least 17 free throws in a game since he joined the team.
“That’s such a great lesson for all the players in this league, but especially for our young guys,” Spoelstra said. “Efficiency, you can stem the tide of a run on the road by getting to the free-throw line. You just take away so much momentum and he’s so patient in knowing how to attack, how to get into the paint, how to draw fouls, use the physicality to get to where he wants to, but also to make the right plays, too.”
After finishing the opener with the sixth-highest usage rate (an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while on the court) on the team at 16.7 percent, Butler posted a team-high usage rate of 27.1 percent in Saturday’s win over the Hornets. In other words, Butler was a much bigger part of the Heat’s offensive attack.
“He’s our guy,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said of Butler. “We follow his lead and any time he’s on like he was tonight, it’s just the energy and the activity that we follow. We saw it tonight and that’s what we need from him.”
Heat guard Terry Rozier added: “We know what happened the first time out [in the opener]. He’s our anchor and we weren’t giving him the rock. He got it tonight and special things happened.”
SWITCH UP
The Heat made a change to its bench rotation in Saturday’s win over the Hornets, playing Alec Burks for extended minutes after not playing him at all in Wednesday’s opener.
Burks was effective, scoring nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range in 25 minutes off the bench. The Heat outscored the Hornets by seven points with Burks on the court.
“He’s such a pro,” Spoelstra said of the 33-year-old Burks. “You hear that term tossed around so much in our league, but he is a pro’s pro. He’s professional, he’s ready, he stays prepared, he’s smart, he knows how to fit in and he’s got a great skill set, too. He can knock down open shots. He gets to open gaps. But he also can handle the ball, so he can be a secondary handler for you. And he’s big, so defensively he fits into the things that we do.”
Burks, who has now played for nine different teams during his 14 NBA seasons, said after Saturday’s game that “I ’m just glad I could help out with the win.” Burks is in his first season with the Heat after signing a one-year veteran minimum contract worth $3.3 million to join Miami in free agency this past summer.
With Burks logging extended minutes off the bench after not playing in the opener, Heat forward Haywood Highsmith received a DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) on Saturday against the Hornets. This comes after Highsmith played 30 minutes in Wednesday’s opener.
“Just stay ready,” Burks said of potentially playing in a role that fluctuates throughout the season. “That’s why you got to be a pro. That’s all that is. I’ve learned from a lot of older players when I was younger to just be a pro everyday.”
INJURY REPORT
The Heat ruled out Kevin Love (personal reasons) and Josh Christoper (G League) for Monday’s game against the Pistons. It will mark the third straight game that Love has missed because of personal reasons.
Josh Richardson and Kel’el Ware are no longer on the Heat’s injury report and are expected to be available against the Pistons. Richardson missed the first two games of the regular season with a heel injury and Ware sat out Saturday’s win over the Hornets because of a stomach illness.
The Pistons ruled out Bobi Klintman (right calf contusion) and Ausar Thompson (return to competition conditioning) for Monday’s game against the Heat.
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