Buckets to Biscayne: What Jimmy Butler Brings to Heat’s Defense

It took a nerve-wrecking three-week rodeo with the Minnesota Timberwolves that eventually fell apart. A few months later, a three-team trade with the Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks blew up over a bad game of Telephone. It took the Portland Trail Blazers, the Los Angeles Clippers, and Tress Way-level punting of sleep for the Miami Heat to finally land Jimmy Butler.

But he’s here now. Officially.

We’ve talked plenty about the actual trade, and probably ugly-cried over Josh Richardson’s wholesomeness going to Philly, but that’s not what this piece is for. We’re here to talk about the man himself.

What does he do? How well does he do it? More importantly: Just how much can he help the Heat?

When I first started on this piece, I quickly realized it was going to run long, buddy. There’s so much to like about Jimmy Butler, professional basketball player. For your sake, and in the name of maximizing #clicks, I decided it made much more sense to turn a super profile into a two-part breakdown. We’ve already looked at what Butler brings to the table offensively. Now, let’s talk about the other end of the floor.

On-Ball Defense

This is what Peak Jimmy Butler looked like in 2017-18.

First, let’s admire Devin Booker being stuffed simply because it isn’t Justise Winslow.

On a more serious note, this is an incredible sequence. In, like, six seconds, Butler:

• tracks Booker around a pair of screens
• closes out before Booker even thinks about taking a corner three
• regains his balance and stays chest-to-chest with Booker on the drive
• contests with outside hand without falling for the pump fake
• strips the ball on the way up

Effort. Physicality. Discipline. Disruption. That’s what Butler was. He put on his hard hat, laced up his boots, and got to work. You may have scored on Butler, but he was really going to make you earn it.

(I wonder how many more cliches I can fit in here.)

That, uh, is not the Butler we saw last season. There was a noticeable slip from his elite level. Part of that was general effort; he wasn’t necessarily a mess in Minnesota before being traded, but he didn’t defend with the same verve. Injuries played a part. A slight adjustment to Philadelphia’s switchier scheme also had Butler a little out of sorts.

Among 42 players that defended at least 12.0 shots per game, Butler ranked 40th in field goal percentage differential (+1.1), via Second Spectrum tracking data. In simpler terms, opponents shot roughly one percentage point better than their average when defended by Butler.

For what it’s worth, those numbers basically flipped during the postseason. Opposing players converted 34.5 percent of their shots with Butler as the nearest defender, a full 11.0 percentage points lower than their average.

Now for the obvious caveat: defensive metrics can be wonky, to be kind. Butler wasn’t as bad as the first number, nor was he as good as the second. As is the case with most things, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Butler absolutely had a down(right awkward) year. I would expect that to rebound some this season. Not many wings in the league move their feet as quickly or as well as he does when locked in. His hands are nothing short of elite — your pocket can get picked in an instant. Most importantly, he knows how to throw off a ball-handler’s rhythm without fouling. Even in an off year for him, those flashes were plentiful.

Among the 26 players that have averaged 1.5 steals over the last three seasons (min. 2500 minutes played), Butler has averaged the least amount of fouls (1.6). In fact, he and Kawhi Leonard are the only players to average more steals than fouls in that time span. If you want to go with “stocks” (steals + blocks), you can add Draymond Green, Trevor Ariza, and John Wall to the list.

Butler’s combination of length, quickness, and strength allows him to defend three positions at an elite level — four when teams downsize.

Smaller guards can be swallowed up — or flat-out bullied — when Butler steps up to the plate:

Like-sized wings don’t have much luck against him, either. Poor Kevin Huerter thought he could slip by Butler with a routine hesi’:

NOPE.

Here’s Butler matched up with Rudy Gobert after a missed shot. Gobert seems to be looking for a DHO recipient, which gives Butler ample time to flash his hands and poke the ball away:

Versatility aside, Butler serves as a glove-in-hand fit in Miami’s drop coverage scheme. At his best, Butler pesters guys over screens and takes away windows.

Butler is the kind of defender head coach Erik Spoelstra loves. He gives Miami another player that you can throw on an opponent’s best scorer without having to send extra help.

Off-Ball Defense

If you thought Butler was hard to deal with on the ball, trying passing the ball in his vicinity.

Actually, maybe you shouldn’t do that:

First, let’s acknowledge just how poor this pass is from Wall. He floats that sucker. It’s not quite an Eli Special, but it’s in the family. A second cousin, maybe?

Still, the pick by Butler gives you a glimpse of the kind of range and discipline he has. He digs down on the Wall drive then rotates back to Jeff Green. He navigates around Kelly Oubre (and the trailing JJ Redick) while staying attached to Green, all while keeping his arm up in the passing lane. The pass eventually comes, and Butler is in position to make the play.

If we’re going to stick with loose football analogies here, Butler reminds me a lot of Earl Thomas. There’s obviously a “pay me or trade me” parallel to be made from earlier in the season, but both guys are cerebral, heat-seeking missiles in space. It is amazing watching them diagnose the action in front of them before going balls-to-the-wall to cause mayhem. They’re very much calculated risk takers; because they’re so smart, they rarely get burned.

Here’s a Thomas-like play from Butler:

Celtics big man Daniel Theis establishes inside position in semi-transition with T.J McConnell fronting him. Kyrie Irving sees Theis (because how could you not?) and tries to loft in the entry pass. Unfortunately for Irving and Thies, Butler already knows where things are heading. He flies in from the weakside and knocks the ball loose at its apex. An easy-two turns into a change-of-possession in the blink of an eye.

It’s one thing to be a smart or instinctive defender. It’s another thing entirely to be both, and that’s exactly what Butler is. Best believe Spo is going to have fun watching Butler roam all over the place.

There’s a non-zero chance the Heat are going to trot out a lineup of Justise Winslow, Butler, Derrick Jones Jr., Kelly Olynyk, and Bam Adebayo this season. I have no idea how that unit will score, but God bless whoever tries to score against them.