Jimmy Butler, former Miami Heat franchise player, finished with 38 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Golden State Warriors in their Play-In win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Veteran Udonis Haslem was asked if the performance was bittersweet for him, with the Heat having just traded Butler, who led the team to the Finals twice in five seasons. two months ago.
"[Butler] is one of the most intelligent basketball players that I've ever played against, and I had this conversation with Dwyane Wade last night, and I told him to his face," Haslem said. "You are talented as hell, LeBron has been talented as hell, but Jimmy's way smarter than y'all."
Haslem, who of course played several seasons with all three of the Heat's most successful star players, explained why he holds that opinion despite James and Wade being considered some of the highest IQ players of all time.
"He is very smart. It is true. He is an extremely smart basketball player. I mean, to the point where I used to go home after practice and just think about ways to stop him because the way he scored on me that night."
Takeaways From Miami Heat's Play-In Win Over The Chicago Bulls
Despite looking outmatched against the Chicago Bulls this season, the Miami Heat convincingly eliminated them 109-90 in the Play-In Tournament Wednesday.
The Heat play another win-or-go-home game on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks for the chance to play the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.
Here are some takeaways:
Executing the defensive gameplan
With the Bulls having averaged 122 points against the Heat in the regular season, there was an emphasis on sticking to the Heat's defensive identity. They held the Bulls to 76.5 points per 100 possessions in the halfcourt and 88.3 offensive rating overall, both ranking in the zero percentile.
The Heat started with Bam Adebayo on Josh Giddey, who was averaging 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the season series. Although the Bulls' offense was better with him playing, Giddey was less effective as a playmaker. He finished with four assists to three turnovers.
Andrew Wiggins started as the primary defender on Coby White, who averaged 23 points, four rebounds and four assists since the Bulls traded Zach LaVine. Wiggins and Davion Mitchell held White to 5 of 20 shooting with seven turnovers.
Controlling the ball/pace
The Bulls ranked seventh in transition points added per 100 possessions and seventh in transition frequency since trading Lavine. Although their halfcourt defense is putrid, the Bulls' transition defense was the best in the league in that period.
The Heat neutralized it, holding them to a 0th percentile transition points added per 100 possessions, and a 14th percentile transition efficiency. The Heat finished in the 100th percentile in transition points added per 100 possessions, 86th percentile in transition efficiency.
The Heat did this by leaning into their defensive identity, forcing more turnovers than assists allowed and had twice the amount of secondn-chance points.
Tyler Herro, once again
Tyler Herro put it all together as a scorer, finishing with 38 points (same amount that Jimmy Butler finished with in his Play-In game, funny enough), on 68 percent shooting.
Herro continued to show he is effective when teams run him off the three-point line. The Heat's offensive rating last night was about 34 points better when he was on the floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @tropicalblanket
