"BUTLER. Heat can tie. FOR THE LEAD"
As Mark Jones uttered these words, Heat fans hearts dropped all across the country. Jimmy Butler -- who has carried the Miami Heat all postseason -- made a business decision. Attack a back peddling Al Horford with Jaylen Brown (non rim protector) looking like he might help. Or shoot the stop and pop 3 over Horford.
Miami had so much momentum before the shot. On an 11-0 run, it seemed like everything was working. Like nothing could go wrong. For a split second, I thought the basketball gods put their hands on this game and planned on determining the outcome. The Celtics had blown big leads all season (a lot of those games were before the turnaround to be fair). Was it about to happen again?
The run to complete the comeback began at the 2:35 mark in the 4th quarter. Max Strus got on the rim with this unexpected putback dunk to spark the unprecedented 2 and a half minute comeback attempt.
Strus has been a key contributor in the Heats rotation all season. He entered the starting lineup March 28th; following the Heats first 4 game losing streak of the season. Miami immediately ran off 6 straight W's with Strus taking the gun slinging, flame thrower role from Duncan Robinson. A permanent change. Strus is a good rebounder (4.3 per game in the playoffs) for his archetype. He has a nice knack for the ball and uses he big body to gain positioning in the paint. Pulling down double-digit rebound games twice in the Philly series was the pinnacle for Strus rebounding wise. We don't expect 6'5 sharpshooters to hit the glass like he did this postseason.
Coaches attack Strus defensively; he learned how to deal with it. Competing his tail off every possession. By the end of the playoffs, announcers had a different tune about him. "He's actually not that bad" or "Strus is holding his own!" were statements made about the undrafted Heat Culture product from DePaul University. Using his upper body girth to cut off paths to the rim, he competed defensively. He was guarding some tough shot makers in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. There were serval occasions he was there, squared up, with a hand in their face and the great players did what greats do. They made tough shots. Good offense usually beats good defense. Max Strus is a top tier competitor. He has that "want to" defensively. He took pride in making bucket getters make tough shots on him.
Two relatively new Heat guards, Victor Oladipo and Kyle Lowry, each had key baskets during the run.
Oladipo is a former All-NBA player looking to resurrect his career after gruesome lower extremity injuries. Oladipo flashed some of his defensive brilliance throughout this series. Taking the Jaylen Brown matchup and neutralizing him in game 3. Brown couldn't miss vs any other matchup. Dropping a post season career-high 40 points. But the vibe was different with Oladipo guarding him the possessions they matched up. Brown had to pull deeper moves out his bag. He wasn't always looking to score with Oladipo in his airspace. Forcing turnover after turnover with those lightning quick hands, Oladipo was a factor defensively.
On the offensive side of the ball, Oladipo came and went. He wasn't getting the same opportunities every game because role players usually don't. He did get a lot of open spot ups but that isn't where he is most comfortable as a scorer. He was very useful as a driver in some games for Miami.
For Oladipo to accept this role is a lot already in itself. Many former All-Stars in the past have flat out refused 6 man roles. Let alone being the 8th man off the bench with defense being the coaches main objective for said player. These players were not producing enough to have these kind of gripes with coaching staffs. But that didn't stop them. This makes me appreciate the former #2 pick in the draft even more. Oladipo was a team guy all season (when he began to play) and did what was asked of him.
The floor general Kyle Lowry, was the Heats biggest acquisition this summer (PJ Tucker was no slouch either). When Lowry arrived, I thought Jimmy would be the main beneficiary. Kyle could handle all the playmaking for others responsibilities while Jimmy could be the go-to scorer. This was semi true. Lowry did step right in making plays for others. He played at his pace and never got rattled. He sets a tone defensively with his all time charge taking abilities. If the shortest man on the court is giving defensive effort like that, what choice does he teammates have besides competing the same way?
His go-ahead passes are a thing of beauty. He sparked many runs with this pass. It seemed like him and Jimmy connected on this look 100 times this year.
Unfortunately, Kyle reaggravated his hamstring injury in the first round vs the Atlanta Hawks. We never got the same Lowry in the playoffs after that game. He played through the injury trying to compete. He gave his teammates everything he had on one leg. His game 6 performance vs the Celtics can't go unnoticed. After going two games with a combined 1* FGM, Kyle Lowry popped off for 18 points and 10 assists to support Jimmy Butlers heroic effort. That was the heart of a champion. Nothing but will can explain why Lowry had a big game in that spot.
Lowry isn't getting any younger. At the age of 36, he is in championship or bust made every year.
“I only play to win championships. It was fun, and I appreciate the guys, my teammates, and I appreciate the opportunity. But for me, it's a waste of a year. You're not winning a championship, it's a wasted year." said Lowry.
Getting back to the thunderous Heats attempted comeback. With the score at a 5 point lock, Jaylen Brown gave Bam Adebayo a nasty elbow resulting in an offensive foul. As Adebayo takes the inbound and zooms up the court, Strus is getting ready for another moment. Without hesitation, Strus catches the ball off the patented Heat dribble-hand-off set and fires. Two dribbles to the right with Al Horford smothering his airspace, Strus hit him with a facial. The type of shot you take on 2k when you have a shot creator build.
The Heat have all the momentum in the world at this point. Basketball is a game based on feel and I bet the Heat players felt like they could do no wrong during this run. Everything was going their way. They were getting charges in their favor, some shooting luck with Boston missing layups and wide open 3's, and every shot they took was falling.
The moment of truth. Jimmy butler gets the board off a Boston miss. As he pushes the ball and scans the floor, fans seem to think he had two options. He's on the break 1 on 1 with Al Horford with Jaylen Brown lurking. He could A. get all the way to the basket and try to finish over both defenders or B. take a stop and pop jumper. This jumper could be a middy or a 3. Jimmy chose the latter and in the biggest way. He went for the kill shot. Trying to end the Celtics season, Jimmy Butler pulled up for a 3 on the break and misses. Heat fans felt it in their stomach when the ball went off the rim
This play is already being heavily debated on social media. But one of the greatest head coaches of all time, Erik Spoelstra, must think there is some ridiculous discourse occurring in the NBA community right now.
"I thought it would have been an incredible story for Jimmy to make that 3. I love that about Jimmy. It was the right look.... definitely a better look than anything we could have designed. It's just a shame it didn't end that way." said Spoelstra.
The NBA is a make or miss league and this play further emphasizes that point. Jimmy carried the Heat all postseason and that shot would have been a story book ending to a defensive minded- old school- Eastern Conference Finals.
In the postseason, Butler averaged:
27.4 PTS
7.4 RPG
4.6 APG
2.1 SPG
50 FG%
84 FT%
Delivering a heroic 47 point special vs the Celtics to push the series to a 7th game. There is no doubt about it. Jimmy was one of the best players in all of basketball during this run.
The best 1-5 defender in the league, Bam Adebayo, received a lot of criticism about his offensive production throughout the run. Not looking to score whenever he touches the ball was my biggest gripe. The catch and look behind routine is something Heat fans want to see change, but game 7 was nothing like that. With the money on the line, Bam stepped up and took shot after shot. Facing up utilizing his jab step and taking the mid range jumper. Using his skill to get by bigs with left hand in-and-out dribbles finishing the sequence with left handed buckets. All the things Heat fans wanted to see every game this series happen in game 7. This something to be encouraged about. I view game 7s as do or die moments. They say individuals reveal their true colors when death is approaching. With death approaching -- the end of the Heats season-- Bam showed why he's in the conversation for best C in the league after the MVP and MVP runner up. I haven't mentioned his stat line in game 7 because its deeper than stats. Bam played with a "you guys can't stop me" mindset in one of the biggest games of his career. That attitude is all we want to see. Rather he finishes with 10 pts or 40 pts, the offensive mentality had last night was the real Bam.
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