The Jimmy Butler adjustment with the Heat, which must be made due to officiating

However, Wednesday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets could be a sign of change as he only had two free throw attempts where he averages eight a game. While there were a ton of plays that fans thought the officiating missed fouls on Butler, it could be the first step from the NBA in diminishing that as pointed out by Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra after the team’s loss to the Denver Nuggets.

“I think that’s an adjustment from the league. Staff has been talking about that. I didn’t receive a memo about it,” Spoelstra said after the Heat’s 100-88 loss to the Nuggets. “But it’s clear that they’re calling it a little bit more like that. So hey, we have to make the adjustment and I think that’s a good adjustment, go to score. Not necessarily to draw fouls.”

Because of that, Spoelstra mentioned how there might have to be an adjustment not only to the way Miami plays, but with the way Butler performs. He said that the 34-year old plays a “rugged game” where he draws a lot of contact when driving in to the paint, and while he will continue to play bully ball, going more “into shotmaking mode” could be the answer.