Jimmy Butler giving the Miami Heat a whole new look

It hasn’t taken for long for the Miami Heat to experience the difference that Jimmy Butler is going to provide this season and beyond.

Given his uncompromising approach and a penchant for hard work, Jimmy Butler had been described as an ideal fit for the Miami Heat even before arriving last summer.

The true definition of a Swiss Army knife, Butler has been as good as advertised through the early part of the season and is only going to get better.

Despite Butler missing the opening three games due to the birth of his first child and a rash of other injuries hitting the team in the early stages, the Heat nonetheless possess a 7-3 record as they transition into a different section of the schedule.

In his first seven appearances with the Heat, Butler is averaging 19.4 points, 6.6 assists and 6.0 rebounds in 33.4 minutes per game. With Justise Winslow absent for five of the opening 10 games, Butler has taken a large amount of the ball-handling duties, already recording double figures in assists on two occasions.

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But it’s in some other categories in which Butler’s impact has also been profound. Having initially made his mark in the league at the defensive end of the floor, Butler has thus far not disappointed in this department. Currently leading the league with 2.7 steals per game, Butler also ranks fifth in the league with 3.7 deflections.

In combination with center Bam Adebayo, Butler has been wreaking havoc with the opposition as they attempt to run their offense.

Furthermore, it’s been his ability to get to the free throw line and convert from the charity stripe that has also been a standout for Butler. Currently averaging 8.7 free throw attempts per game, this represents the highest mark by a Heat player since Dwyane Wade in 2009-10.

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Following the Heat’s most recent win, a 117-108 victory Tuesday over the Detroit Pistons in which Butler recorded 20 points, 13 assists and zero turnovers, head coach Erik Spoelstra was effusive over Butler’s play:

"“He just really controlled the entire game, and the fourth quarter offensively for us, he choreographed basically every action….he just reads the game and plays the right way….it’s a great luxury, which we certainly don’t take for granted, to be able to put the ball in someone’s hands and know you’re going to get something good in a possession.”"

As Spoelstra alluded to, it’s been Butler’s ability to read the game and provide just what the team needs from him on a nightly basis that’s been most impressive. In Phoenix, his 30-point first half was just what the team needed to kick off a three-game West Coast road trip, as the Heat beat the Suns 124-108 on Nov. 7.

Then in the aforementioned Pistons’ game, Butler played the role of lead facilitator until the final quarter when he scored 11 of his 20 points to lead the Heat to their seventh win of the season.

Playing under control has been a feature of Butler’s game, as evidenced by ranking third in the league among players averaging at least 30 minutes per game with a 3.54 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Despite possessing a lengthy injury list, the Heat are about to face a slew of highly winnable games, thus enabling them to put further pressure on the leaders in the Eastern Conference standings, where they are currently tied for third.

So while there’s been a number of success stories for the Miami Heat in the early section of the 2019-20 season, the presence provided by Jimmy Butler is hard to top.