After serving a seven-game suspension, primarily not traveling with the team on the road, Jimmy Butler made his return in a Miami Heat jersey. Nobody knew what to expect. Butler’s last time out was characterized by a lack of effort. However, tonight, much to the delight of his team, the 35-year-old came with a revitalized mentality. And although the Heat got run away by the Denver Nuggets, his teammates are happy to see Butler back.

“Get him back acclimated. I mean we know what Jimmy is capable of so it’s no shocker that he found his rhythm at some point. Moving forward I think he is going to continue to find his rhythm and we’re going to keep trying to win games,” said Bam Adebayo. The skillful forward added 18 points, doubling his tally from the last time he played around.

But aside from the curiosity it was also a test for the team. The Heat had found some consistency with Tyler Herro playing as the fulcrum of the offense. With Jimmy Butler’s return, the dynamics did change. The dazzling scorer led the way, but his production did suffer slightly. Still, as far as re-adjusting with the veteran in the lineup, Herro thinks it will be a seamless process.

“I don’t think so. Played 5-6 years with Jimmy so we know how to get things in order. I mean it’s been good just getting Jimmy back… Obviously him being gone for an extended period of time is obviously an adjustment just to bring him back. I was happy to see him back in action,” the Heat’s leading scorer admitted.

Still, even though teammates do seem glad to have him back, the Butler situation has no certain ending yet. In his press conference, Butler chose to reserve any comments about his future. However, he did mention that if he stays for the season, he will compete for the badge, a positive for the Heat franchise.

Coach Spo refuses to give into the Jimmy Butler narrative

With Jimmy Butler back and even producing for the Miami Heat, it was a sight for sore eyes for the Heat Nation. But the result didn’t match the gravitas of the occasion. The Nuggets decimated the Heat by 20 points at the Kaseya Center. For the first half, where the Nuggets built their lead, Butler hadn’t ventured into being as aggressive.

With Spoelstra at the seat, a reporter asked him about Butler’s performance. But he refused to give into the narrative, decoding just what went wrong with the Heta tonight.

“I don’t know. We haven’t seen him obviously in a couple of weeks. Hasn’t played in many games so that is likely part of this. I know what storylines you are looking for… I know what I saw from a defensive standpoint was not good enough. That’s three straight games now. We’ve found our identity on how we can in games and then in three games we haven’t been able to put that together, commit to that side of the floor and we’ve paid the price,” the Heat coach said about their loss.

In all fairness, the Heta have conceded 105+ points in their last three contests, losing all of them. Prior to these results, they went on a three-game winning streak, preventing their rivals from scoring 100 each time. Hence, Jimmy Butler or not, the Miami Heat may have lost their defensive foundation which helped them win games.

And with Butler claiming he will compete, his introduction surely has the scope to help the team escape their issues.