Miami Heat: How Jimmy Butler and Giannis Antetokounmpo would fit as a duo

The Miami Heat are reportedly interested in signing Giannis Antetokounmpo during the 2021 offseason but how does his skill set mesh with Jimmy Butler?

The Miami Heat have been positioned as one of the favorites to acquire the services of Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021. Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports stated earlier this month that people inside the NBA bubble believe the Toronto Raptors and Miami are the front-runners to sign him in free agency.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s strengths

But is Miami the right fit for Antetokounmpo? No, as Antetokounmpo rose to prominence when former head coach Jason Kidd decided to use him as a primary ball-handler in March of 2016. Kidd told beat writers that Antetokounmpo’s ability to find his teammates and put pressure on defenses made him ideal for the role.

Kidd’s decision has been the catalyst behind Antetokounmpo, averaging a career-high 84.4 touches per game over the past four-plus seasons, a 58.3 percent increase from his first two-plus seasons. The touches have enabled him to attack the basket 11.7 times per game, a 91.8 percent increase from his first two-plus seasons.

It resulted in 6.8 points and 1.2 assists, at least a 126 percent increase from his first two-plus seasons in both categories. More importantly, his statistics on drives equated to 29.7 percent of his points and 22.2 of his assists.

Why Jimmy Butler will struggle to complement Antetokounmpo’s strengths

Unfortunately, the primary ball handler role dramatically affects how his teammates have to play the game as his teammates have to spend most of their offensive possessions as floor spacers. Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez attempted at least 35.4 percent of their field goals from behind the arc during the 2018-19 season.

The floor spacer role would not work for Jimmy Butler as 3-point shooting isn’t his strong suit. Butler has a career field goal percentage of 33 percent from behind the arc on 2.6 attempts per game.

Butler’s subpar shooting has propelled his defenders to give him space whenever he is behind the arc as 72.6 percent of his threes have been uncontested over the past three regular seasons. Butler’s below-average shooting would force Antetokounmpo to have to deal with the presence of a help defender.

Sadly, Antetokounmpo would be in the same position as he is in Milwaukee. Bledsoe was a below-average shooter before the 2018-19 season as he converted 33.7 percent of his field goals on 2.9 attempts per game.

Bledsoe’s shooting struggles continued during the 2018-19 regular season as he shot 32.9 percent from behind the arc during the 2018-19 season. 97.9 percent of those field goals were uncontested attempts.

Therefore, Antetokounmpo had to deal with the constant presence of a help defender as he averaged 11.2 contested shots per game, 64.7 percent of his total field goal attempts. He converted 64.3 percent of those attempts generating 14.4 points per game, 52 percent of scoring output.

How the partnership can work

The only way a Butler and Antetokounmpo partnership would work is if Antetokounmpo becomes a roll man. This is because Butler’s success this season has been predicated on getting to the paint. Butler attacked the basket 15.5 times per game during the regular season, which helped him get 5.0 field goal attempts in the restricted area.

The 5.0 field goal attempts accounted for 38.2 percent of his shots during the regular season. Butler capitalized on his ability to get in the restricted area. He shot 63.9 percent in the restricted area, which allowed him to generate 6.4 points per game, 32.2 percent of his scoring output.

Fortunately, Antetokounmpo has thrived as a roll man throughout his career as he has rolled to the basket 1.16 times per game over the past five regular seasons. Antetokounmpo is shooting 60.5 percent from the field when rolling to the basket on 0.9 attempts per game, allowing him to score 1.44 points. It has accounted for 5.9 percent of his scoring average.

However, it would be a redundant skill set for the Miami Heat as the team already has a great roll man in Bam Adebayo. Adebayo has rolled to the basket 2.1 times per game over the past four-plus seasons. Adebayo is shooting 60.2 percent from the field when rolling to the basket on 1.6 attempts per game, allowing him to score 2.3 points. It has accounted for 21.9 percent of his scoring average.

Therefore, the Miami Heat would be better off not pursuing Antetokounmpo and instead pair Butler up with a star who can shoot from behind the arc.