Heat’s Jimmy Butler appreciates new teammates’ defensive ‘gambles’

Jimmy Butler’s affection for “disciplined gambles” — as Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra once described them — has given him a greater appreciation for what his new teammates bring to the table defensively.

The Heat already had two of the better steal artists on their roster with Butler’s instincts in passing lanes and Andre Iguodala’s knack for swiping the ball from players while they’re in their shooting motion, and two of the team’s latest additions will only make it more difficult for opposing teams to maintain possession.

Trevor Ariza’s 2.53-percent career steal percentage ranks No. 6 among active NBA players, while Butler (No. 8 at 2.47 percent) and Iguodala (No. 15 at 2.3 percent) give the Heat three players in the top-15 of the aforementioned rankings according to basketball-reference.com.

Victor Oladipo’s 2.5-percent steal percentage would rank No. 7 behind Ariza and ahead of Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook (2.49 percent), but he hasn’t recorded the 15,000 career minutes basketball-reference’s database requires for the rankings.

He’s played 14,910 minutes ahead of the Heat’s (26-24) matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

“I love that we got some guys who’ll gamble,” Butler said, “so I won’t be the only one getting in trouble when I miss an assignment.”

Like Butler, who’s leading the league in steals per game with two, Oladipo has the ability to take calculated chances in the passing lanes that spark transition opportunities on offense while also poking the ball free from players while they’re dribbling.

Oladipo, who led the league in steals and was named to the All-Defensive first team during the 2017-18 season, quickly has found his footing on defense in Miami while continuing to search for his groove on offense — recording four steals and one block in his first two games with the Heat.

He’s averaging 1.4 steals per game this season.

“You can see how much he adds to what we do already,” Spoelstra of Oladipo, with the Heat’s 15.5-percent defensive turnover percentage ranking third in the league, according to Cleaning The Glass. “Defensively, he fits right in. That is probably the quickest adjustment.”

While Ariza hasn’t recorded steals through his first nine games with the Heat at the same rate as he has throughout his career, the 17-year-veteran has been praised for his basketball IQ and being a plug-and-play forward.

“He’s key for us, to us,” Butler said of Ariza. “He’s always in the right spot, always talking. You can switch with him, you can trap with him, do it all. He makes everybody’s jobs easier.”

But when it comes time to lock in, Butler’s confident they’ll maintain that balance of taking chances while also staying disciplined with their individual assignments.

“It gives Spo an opportunity to pick whether he wants to go straight defense, straight offense or a little bit of both at any time of the game, especially in the fourth quarter in crunch time minutes,” he said of the team’s additions. “I got confidence in those guys guarding the ball, making the right plays.”

Okoro comparisons

Isaac Okoro, the Cleveland Cavaliers rookie who scored 17 points in the Heat’s win versus the Cavaliers on Saturday, has been compared to Butler and Iguodala — notably by ESPN draft Mike Schmitz and Okoro’s coach at Auburn, Bruce Pearl, respectively.

“I was talking with [Udonis Haslem] at the end of the game — we agreed the kid’s going to be really good,” Butler said of Okoro, the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NBA draft. “He plays within the game. He takes all the right shots. He gets stops and rebounds. He’s always passing the ball to the open guy.

“I really like his game. He plays incredibly hard. He’s going to be in this league for a long time and he’s going to make a lot of money in this league, too.”

As for whether he sees the comparison, Butler wouldn’t go that far.

“I don’t really think it’s really fair to compare anybody to anybody else,” he said. “What’d he do, one year in college? His potential is out of this world. He’s going to be his own player. Hopefully, he’s 10 times better than I am. If he keeps working, the sky’s the limit.”