ASK IRA: Can Heat afford to keep sitting Jimmy Butler at start of the fourth?
Q: Same old Heat, lose the fourth quarter once again. When is this going to be corrected? – Joel, Fort Lauderdale.
A: When they have at least Jimmy Butler or Tyler Herro on the court at the start of the fourth quarter. That, to me, was one of the more confounding elements of Monday night’s loss. The thought was that if Erik Spoelstra insisted on maintaining the rotation that has Jimmy sitting out the top of the fourth, at least Tyler, with his return, would be there to stabilize the offense. Instead, both were on the bench as the Timberwolves’ rallied to start the final period. Perhaps it had something to do with limiting Tyler’s minutes in his return – although his final total would indicate otherwise. But you can’t have your two shot creators watching when the offense goes dry.
Q: Hey Ira, I am not a fan of Jimmy Butler only playing 4:51 in the fourth quarter vs. Minnesota. Surely there must be a better way to manage his usage for the opportunity to play at least eight minutes at the end of games. – David, Venice.
A: Especially with a day off before and a day off after. This was not like this was part of a back-to-back set. And while Jimmy is 34, you also are paying him as your closer. Instead, only one shot, one assist and no points in only, as you noted, 4:51. Yes, there was a lack of a stoppage before the Heat called their fifth timeout. But there nonetheless, was time to get Tyler Herro back in with 6:44 to play (which also seemed a bit late). And before that, there was a stoppage with 7:29 to play.
Q: When is it going to be obvious that the transition to the third and fourth quarter with Jimmy Butler sitting is a deal breaker. Get Erik Spoelstra to realize something has to give. The end of the third and unfortunately first half of the fourth quarter is where basketball dies in South Beach. – Michael, Sacramento.
A: It actually is remarkable to have so many playoff-proven players and a player-proven coach, and be unable to sustain at winning time.