Jimmy Butler continues to set tone for Heat: ‘His intensity level is always at a peak level’

Even at 33 years old as he enters his 12th NBA season, star Jimmy Butler continues to set the tone for the Miami Heat on practice days.

With a week off between last Wednesday’s preseason finale and this upcoming Wednesday’s regular-season opener against the Chicago Bulls at FTX Arena, the Heat has had the luxury of a few physical practice days. Butler’s voice and competitive spirit have been on display in those sessions.

Player-by-player guide: What to expect from Miami Heat’s roster entering the 2022-23 season

“Every team in the league should want a guy like Jimmy Butler. That’s why we sought him so aggressively,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said following Monday’s practice. “That’s why I wanted to coach him for so long, for so many years. Earlier in his career, I had coaching envy. I wanted him on our side because he approaches it the same way we do, very seriously about competition. His intensity level is always at a peak level.

“You practice and you compete — he’s competing to win, even in these kind of scrimmages. It means a lot to him. That sets the tone for everybody walking in the building, and you can develop great habits because he has a very unique great attention to detail. And, you know, you have these live hunger-game days, that’s built for Jimmy Butler.”

After Monday’s practice at FTX Arena, Butler took part in a series of one-on-one games against Heat two-way contract forward Jamal Cain for at least the second time in the last week. Butler won most of the time, but Cain made sure to point out that he did come away victorious in one of the games.

The two left the practice court Monday arguing about a controversial call at the end of their final 1-on-1 game.

“I love to compete, especially against someone like that,” Cain said. “Someone that’s going to push me and challenge me.”

There’s also the benefit, especially for a young developmental player such as Cain, of simply going up against an All-Star-caliber player such as Butler.

“He’s not going to give the younger guys anything,” Cain said. “You’re going to have to work for it, you’re going to have to compete, and he just showed me a lot about the game that I can learn and I can implement into my game. So I’m just happy to be a part of it and be able to compete with somebody like that.”

When Heat forward Max Strus was asked Monday if he has ever thrown himself into a 1-on-1 game against Butler, Strus noted that he went up against Butler often during the 2020-21 season when he was on a two-way contract.

“I did that every day with him when I was on a two-way. I’ve been in those shoes before,” Strus said. “I personally asked [Butler to play him 1-on-1] because I knew he was going to make me better.”

ROTATION COMMUNICATION

With Wednesday’s opener quickly approaching, Spoelstra said he has already begun communicating to players regarding who will be in the Heat’s rotation to start the regular season.

“I do want to communicate so the guys can have a little bit of clarity to be more comfortable,” Spoelstra said Monday. “But I won’t have all the answers by Wednesday night, because we have a deep team. We have a talented team, versatile group. We want to maximize all of that.

“I also understand full well that I can’t play a 15-man roster, so there’s going to be some guys who are very deserving, they won’t necessarily be in that first game. But I’ll be open to anything. As we know, 82-game seasons are long, and we’re going to need everybody as we go into it. It’s a good thing. It’s a point of strength of our roster, that we’re deep.”

The expectation is the Heat will open the season with a starting lineup of Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Butler, Caleb Martin and Bam Adebayo.

INJURY REPORT

The only Heat player who did not practice on Monday was center Omer Yurtseven, who remains out because of left ankle soreness.

“We’ll just have to continue to treat him,” Spoelstra said following practice. “He’s doing more work and we feel like he’s getting closer. But he’s still day to day.”

The Heat’s injury report for Wednesday’s opener will be released on Tuesday afternoon.