Getty Jimmy Butler hopes to lead the Heat back beyond the first round of the playoffs this season.
While Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is heading into the 2021-22 NBA season with an all-new look, he’s also entering training camp, which started on Tuesday, with an all-new team.
The Heat’s revamped roster sounded great on paper, but how or if the Heat’s returning players would gel would the latest additions — we could only wait and see.
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Based on the Heat’s first practice, things are going quite well. Everyone came ready to compete, which is exactly what Butler wants from his teammates.
“It’s the dog pound, for sure,” newly-signed P.J. Tucker said of the aggressive nature within the roster. “Yeah, that’s my new thing this year. The pound, because it’s not just me, it’s all of us… Every second of it was intense. A lot of communicating, a lot of talking, a lot of hard work.”
Day 1 went as expected. #HEATCulture
This was likely music to Butler’s ears, as he thrives on being competitive. The wing is also famous for enjoying some trash talk while putting in the work. For Butler, that’s one of the truest sign of players vibing with one another.
Scenes from the first day of practice.
“We got a little after it,” Butler said, per Miami Herald‘s Anthony Chiang. “That’s going to be the first day through the end of the season. If we’re stepping in here between these lines, there’s always going to be a lot of competing. But I think that’s what we want. We want to be able to talk some trash with one another.”
Butler Doesn’t Believe in Playing ‘Big 3’ Ball
this is gonna be fun
There’s no doubting that Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Lowry are the team’s biggest stars, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be the only big playmakers this season.
“I don’t believe the hype of a Big Three,” Butler said on Tuesday. “We have a bunch of guys that can do things. All of our guys can play. Yeah, we’re probably the three leaders that everybody’s going to look towards and look at, but we’re not going to be able to do it without everybody else around it.”
Butler is incredibly pumped to have his best friend Lowry playing alongside him. “He’s a fierce competitor, a winner, a champion. But more than anything, he keeps it lighthearted. He keeps the game fun, joking around, never backing down from any type of challenge. Those are the guys you want out there with you. It’s easy to follow suit when you got that.”
Coach Spo Discussed What It’s Like Having 10 New Faces on the Team
Erik Spoelstra could hear Kyle Lowry’s voice day 1 of practice: He’s your classic, prototypical all league quarterback #HeatTwitter
When the Heat’s head coach Erik Spoelstra was asked about what it’s like coaching a team with 10 new players, and how that changes his approach to training camp, he admitted that “maybe it’s a little different,” as reported by Sun Sentinel‘s Ira Winderman.
“Trying to get up and running a little bit quicker, but we still did our typical Miami Heat buildup of who we are, what’s important to us,” Spoelstra continued. “But we’re mindful that we have to get moving pretty quickly.”
The biggest difference for Spoelstra was the somewhat relaxed health and safety protocols. “This first day felt considerably different than last year’s training camp felt this day. It’s not like going all the way back to normal, but it definitely felt better.”
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