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Inside The Heat

The season for the Miami Heat was about showing more star power than just Jimmy Butler

With two NBA All-Stars, a legitimate 3-point threat and a pair of rising rookies, Miami Heat showcase more than Jimmy Butler
Shandel Richardson|
The season for the Miami Heat was about showing more star power than just Jimmy Butler
The season for the Miami Heat was about showing more star power than just Jimmy Butler

When the trade was made last July, the Miami Heat immediately became Jimmy Butler's team. 

He was the superstar needed to propel a team lacking star power. Butler was labeled the player who would help it reach the next level. After 65 games of a suspension-shortened season because of the coronavirus outbreak, the Heat have proven they are more than just a group reliant on Butler. 

It was the early-season rally cry once pundits began describing the Heat as a team still a marquee player from contending. The emergence of Bam Adebayo, who made his first NBA All-Star appearance, helped them to a 41-24 record and the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference.  

“We definitely turned some heads, 100 percent turned some heads,” Adebayo said in an interview Monday with Heat television analyst Eric Reid. “I feel like a lot of people didn’t believe in us. People were saying we only had one All-Star and that we couldn’t win with just one All-Star. I feel like that drove a lot of us.”

It was Adebayo putting up career-highs in points, rebounds and assists helping the Heat secure a playoff berth after missing the postseason three of the last five years. It was also the continued growth of forward Duncan Robinson and the rapid rise of rookies Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro. 

Robinson set the franchise record for 3-pointers in a single season while Nunn and Herro are on pace to earn All-Rookie honors. The future is even brighter considering all of Butler's sidekicks, including forward Derrick Jones Jr., are 25 and under. 

At 22, Adebayo says he is nowhere near his potential. He feels his offensive game will only continue to improve. 

“I want to prove [coach Erik Spoelstra] wrong,” Adebayo said. “Spo said I wouldn’t be a 20-point scorer with the way we play.”

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here

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