Miami Heat: A phenomenally underrated Jimmy Butler season

Unfathomably overlooked for the All-Star game, Jimmy Butler has been rolling as the Miami Heat continue their surge up the standings.

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler missing out on All-Star selection this season is, in the words of John Hollinger on the Hollinger and Duncan NBA Show Podcast, “egregious”.

Granted, Butler had appeared in just seven games come the beginning of February, with the Heat at that stage holding an underwhelming 7-12 record. But following the Heat’s recent seven-game West Coast trip in which they compiled a 4-3 record, and their most recent 116-108 victory at home over the Toronto Raptors, Butler’s numbers simply cannot be underestimated.

Through his opening 20 games, Butler is averaging 19.5 points, 7.8 assists, 7.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 33.0 minutes per game. While he’s overall been below par in shooting at a 43.4 percent clip from the field, Butler’s excellent 86.5 percent return on 8.2 attempts per game has been a consistent feature of his offensive repertoire.

To put his season date into perspective, the only players who have averaged at least 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 85 percent from the line for an entire season, per Stathead, are the following:

• Magic Johnson
• Larry Bird
• Michael Jordan

In those particular seasons, Johnson won the MVP, Bird finished third, while Jordan placed second in voting. In this instance, Butler has not even been selected amongst the elite 24 players in the league for the annual prestigious event.

His latest masterful performance over the Raptors was possibly his best all-around game of the season to date. Playing 34 minutes, Butler posted 27 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and three steals while nailing all eight attempts from the charity stripe. Most notably, it was his 3-of-4 return from 3-point range, where he’d only nailed four triples for the season prior to the game, that was the biggest standout.

While his 10 assists were extremely impressive, the sixth time he’s dished out double-figure assists in his past nine contests, Butler’s six deflections at the defensive end further emphasized the manner in which he has been dominating at both ends of the floor. Not only does Butler rank equal first in the league at 1.9 steals per game, but he also ranks third in the league in defensive rating among all players that have appeared in at least 15 games while averaging at least 30 minutes per outing.

After the Raptors win, head coach Erik Spoelstra was effusive in his praise:

"“Jimmy’s game was the quintessential all-around, winning basketball game….it always tends to make you look good when great players can make some plays.”"

Following this win, the Heat have now catapulted up to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings with a 15-17 record.  Considering where the team sat at the beginning of the month, putting together a four-game winning streak, and eight wins from their past 11 games, is certainly proof the team is headed in the right direction.

With a trio of home games before a trip to New Orleans prior to the All-Star break, the Heat are well placed as the second half of the season approaches.

And while he should without a shadow of a doubt be participating in the midseason event, being able to put his feet up during the All-Star festivities could certainly be a silver lining for Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat.