Heat’s Oladipo pushing through up-and-down year. And why Jimmy Butler was in L.A. on Tuesday

Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo’s return from the second surgery on the quadriceps tendon in his right knee.

The last year has included plenty of ups and downs for Oladipo, but Monday was one of the good days.

Oladipo closed Monday’s win over the Hawks with 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 shooting on threes, two rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 32 minutes off the bench. It marked the most points Oladipo has scored in a game since recording 26 points in a Jan. 6 win in Phoenix.

“I remind him all the time that he has to have a little bit of grace with himself,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami-Dade Arena. “I think everybody probably has to have a little bit of grace with everything that he’s gone through. You can’t just say, ‘Oh, you can be right back to who you used to be.’ He’s been out more percentage of games in the last four years than he’s actually played and that is something.”

Oladipo, 30, has actually played in just 60 regular-season games during the previous three seasons because of injuries. Wednesday will mark the 34th game he has played in this regular season after missing the first 24 games of the schedule because of left knee tendinosis.

“We wanted to commit to him on this journey knowing that it wouldn’t just be a linear improvement,” Spoelstra said. “There would be some ups and downs and everything in between. But he stayed the course, he’s showed that persistence and that fortitude. And he’s had an impact.”

Monday’s performance also included Oladipo’s first alley-oop dunk since the 2019-20 season, throwing it down off a pass from Duncan Robinson in transition against the Hawks.

“Honestly, I’ve been trying to catch a lob all year, to be honest with you,” Oladipo said. “But in all seriousness, it worked out great. Big shout out to Duncan, man. That was a great pass by him and I went up and finished it. So it felt good.”

The challenge for Oladipo is building on Monday’s outing following a shaky few weeks. He averaged 5.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and two assists per game while shooting 30 percent from the field and 7 of 22 (31.8 percent) from three-point range in the Heat’s first six games after the All-Star break leading up to Monday’s breakout night.

Oladipo entered Wednesday averaging 10.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 39.4 percent from the field and 31.2 percent on threes in a bench role season. He’s shooting just 56 percent at the rim, which is the 22nd percentile among NBA guards.

“I’m just going to keep shooting. I’m not really going to think about that,” Oladipo said when asked about his inefficient shooting percentages for the season. “I really don’t know. I’m not really concerned about the past and what the year has been and the ups and downs. I’m just going to hoop like I know I can. Obviously, my role has been different and things have been different. This situation is different. But I’m just going to continue keep making the most of it, just being aggressive.”

That aggressiveness is needed as part of a Heat bench that has struggled to score. Miami entered Wednesday averaging the third-fewest bench points in the NBA at 27.8 per game after leading the NBA in bench scoring last season at 40.5 points per game.

With guard Tyler Herro, the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year, becoming a fixture in the Heat’s starting lineup this season, the team’s hope was that Oladipo could help fill the void as a sixth man spark. Oladipo has done that at times with five 20-plus point games this season, but he has also shot worse than 40 percent from the field in 17 of his first 33 appearances.

Oladipo has also served as a disruptive defender, averaging an impressive 1.8 steals per 36 minutes this season.

Through the ups and downs, Oladipo continues to persevere with the hope that the good nights will become more frequent as he moves further away from the knee surgeries that derailed his NBA career.

“Everybody goes through stuff, everybody goes things,” said Oladipo, who signed a two-year, $18.2 million contract with the Heat last summer that includes a $9.5 million player option for next season. “It’s about how you have resolve and how resilient you are, it really defines who you are as a person and defines who you are as a man. So I’m just going to continue to keep getting better and staying aggressive.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ Jimmy Butler was busy during the the Heat’s one-day break between Monday’s win over the Hawks and Wednesday’s matchup against the Cavaliers.

Butler traveled to the other side of the country to attend the Lakers’ retirement of Pau Gasol’s jersey on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Butler and Gasol were teammates with the Chicago Bulls for two seasons from 2014-15.

“I’m here because of Pau, obviously,” Butler said when asked about his appearance by the NBA’s social media team. “Congrats to my brother Pau. I love you, man. Much deserved, Hall of Fame coming soon. We all know it. Appreciate you for having me my brother.”

Butler traveled back to Miami for Wednesday night’s matchup against the Cavaliers. He was not on the injury report for the contest and has missed just one game since the start of 2023.

▪ The Heat remains without Nikola Jovic (G League assignment) and Kyle Lowry (left knee soreness) on Wednesday against the Cavaliers. Kevin Love will play against the Cavaliers after missing Monday’s win over the Hawks with a right rib contusion.

The Cavaliers’ full rotation is expected to be available against the Heat.