“You’re the worst coach I’ve ever met ” Miami Heats’ power forward Jimmy Butler openly berates head coach Erik Spoelstra for fostering an environment of hostility against him…..

With all of the distractions and chaos off the court because of Jimmy Butler’s constant suspensions, this was an excellent win for the Miami Heat.

Coach Erik Spoelstra talked post-game and immediately acknowledged how vital this comeback victory was and how this win could be one of the building blocks for the future.

“What it means right now is just that we proved to ourselves we have a tremendous amount of grit, and you gain confidence from that,” Spoelstra said. “Last time we played Orlando, it was the same type of thing. We had to totally gut it out, and there were so many inspiring defensive plays down the stretch.”

Spoelstra made a point to address, first and foremost, how impactful Bam Adebayo’s defense is to the team. Before tonight, his offense hadn’t been up to his usual standards and hadn’t finished with a game scoring at least 20 points since Jan. 2. However, tonight was one of his best games of the season on both ends of the floor.

“Bam is just a true definition of a two-way player,” Spoelstra continued. “ I understand what people are saying about his offense. It was great for him to have that moment where he had big offensive plays down the stretch, but we can’t forget how impactful he can be defensively in whatever coverage against 1-5.”

Spoelstra also discussed his new rotation of Adebayo, Nikola Jovic, and Kel’el Ware, who are all in the same big unit for the first time all year. Through 20 minutes, they were a plus 17 and closed out the fourth quarter and both overtime periods.

“Niko did a good job defensively in the fourth quarter and overtimes,” Spoelstra explained. “And Kel’el and Bam have already been building this chemistry defensively. That’s what we want. We want to make it really hard for teams to score easy buckets in the paint and at the rim. Our offense, we think, will get better as we spend more time together.”

ESPN ANALYST SAYS JIMMY BUTLER’S SUSPENSION WILL COST HIM MILLIONS

As Jimmy Butler was set to return tonight from his second suspension against the Orlando Magic, the Miami Heat suspended him a third time.

The Heat released a statement explaining Butler was suspended for five games for continuing to engage in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services. The team informed Butler he would not start tonight upon his return, and Haywood Highsmith would start in his place.

ESPN salary cap expert Bobby Marks summarized the actions the Heat will continue to do each time Butler gives them a reason warranting suspension.

“We continue to learn that Miami will do this suspension dance all season with Jimmy Butler,” Marks said. “If Butler continues to give the Heat a reason like walking out of shoot around, he will get suspended. And just like Ben Simmons with Philadelphia, Butler will likely get a good chunk of the money back after it goes to arbitration or gets settled.”

Marks pointed out the key wording in the Heat’s statement would indicate how much money Butler would lose in this five-game suspension. Anything related to failure to render services will cost him $532,737 per game. Because this suspension is indefinite, Butler is projected to lose at least $2,663,685 through the five games he will miss.

This suspension follows his seven-game suspension on Jan. 2, and his two-game suspension ended after the Heat’s last game against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. Butler’s total losses from suspensions will be at least $5.2 million.

ESPN GIVES INSIGHT ABOUT JIMMY BUTLER’S LACK OF EFFORT SINCE SUSPENSION

Despite saying his “beef” isn’t with any of the players on the Miami Heat rosters, Jimmy Butler’s poor play since his return from his last suspension hurts their chances of winning.

The Heat certainly are a middling team without Butler, but they were able to give several of their core players for the future a chance to build chemistry and step out of a more supporting cast role they had behind him.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. had his first 20-point performance during this stretch. They went 3-4 without him during his seven-game suspension.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, several statistics show that even when he returned, he wasn’t playing close to his usual regular-season standards.

Butler attempted fewer than 10 shots in four of his last five games. He also had a five-game stretch, with no more than 57 points, 42 shot attempts, and 14 free throw attempts. The last time he had a stretch like this was in 2013, in the second season of his career.

In his most recent game against the Portland Trailblazers, Butler took a shot on 14 percent of his touches. It was the third-lowest percentage in a game this season with a minimum of 50 touches.

He also passed the ball on 76 percent of his touches, tying his second-highest percentage in a game this year. To make things worse, Tyler Herro, the Heat’s most consistent source of offense, wasn’t available. Yet, Butler did not step up when the Heat needed him to.

Over his last five games, Butler has averaged 11.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists on 48.8 percent shooting and 40 percent from three-point range.

Bryan Townes is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at btownesjr@gmail.com or on X @bryantownesjr11. Follow our coverage on Facebook.

This article first appeared on Miami Heat on SI and was syndicated with permission.