Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler Moved Up A Few Spots On Clutch Players List

There have been a lot of clutch performances in this season.

With the year winding down, NBA.com writer Shaun Powell laid out his favorites to win the Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year Award.

He placed Miami Heat’s small forward Jimmy Butler at No. 3, behind Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox and Chicago Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan. New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson and Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid follow Butler at No. 4 and 5.

"What is crazy is Butler is having perhaps the finest season of his career and yet Miami, for some reason, continues to chug along," Powell write. "He remains strong in every aspect of the clutch by getting points, rebounds and assists to put his team in a position to win. At least the Heat, with Butler bringing the goods in tight games, are bringing an advantage as the season and the chase for playoff spots start to get interesting."

Butler is having arguably the best season of his career clutch-wise. This is just less than a year after a potential series-winning 3-pointer came up short in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Last week he hit a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime against the Orlando Magic. He had another clutch performance last Dec. 2 when he hit a right fadeaway jumper to seal a 120-116 overtime victory against the Boston Celtics. Most of his clutch performances haven't come from points, though. He makes the right plays to set up clutch shots for teammates and even hits clutch free-throws.

In clutch situations, Butler is averaging three points on 49 percent shooting. He only shoots 22 percent from the 3-point line.

Although he is averaging 22 points, the most since joining the Heat, they are still struggling to keep possession of a play-in tournament spot.

Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog HERE.