Coach Spo Details Why He Thinks Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler are a Match Made in Heaven

The Lakers sat on the throne once again after 10 years of rough drought. Even though 2020 began with the tragic death of the legendary Kobe Bryant, the team made sure it ended on a happier note. While the Miami Heat ultimately lost, they achieved more than anyone could have expected from them. 

The Heat forced a Game 6 and became the only team to manage to do this against the Lakers in this post-season. They ensured that the so-called ‘soft era’ of basketball did not take away the competitive element from the NBA Finals. After Game 5, the Lakers fans were concerned that the Heat would push for a Game as well. Fortunately for the Lakers, that didn’t happen.

The Miami Heat still have a lot of positive to take away from the series

The Game 3 win from the Heat without Bam Adebayo or Goran Dragic in the playing roster proved how strong they were as a unit. It was Jimmy Butler who did all the heavy-lifting but his teammates also did a wonderful job.

The very successful head coach of the Miami Heat, Erik Spoelstra, was rather teary when he showed up for the post-game interview. He detailed all the sacrifices that his side had to make to come this far in the series. Talking specifically about the Heat culture and Jimmy Butler, he noted,  “I think that’s what we’re all looking for, to be a part of a family…To just be yourself, you don’t have to make any apologies for who you are. We’ve been searching for (Butler) for a long time and he’s been searching for us for a while. He is a great example of what you can bring out of a franchise when you are wired for that fierce competitiveness.”

One way or the other, Jimmy G. Buckets and the Miami Heat are a match made in heaven. Such words of praise coming from a personality that coached the Miami Heat to championship victories in 2012 and 2013 are a great takeaway for anyone. Pat Riley will also be proud of the way Miami Heat did not give up until the last moment.

Game 6 was more about handling nerves than about the play

The Miami Heat and the Lakers were running almost neck to neck in the initial minutes of Q1. However, in no time, the Lakers overpowered the Heat with their very strong defense. In Q2, Rajon Rondo and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope of the Los Angeles Lakers took away every possibility of a Heat win. They contributed three-pointers and added field goals with unmatched accuracy.

The Miami Heat looked like they were panicking in the first half, and when they finally gathered their rhythm, it was too late to bounce back. In the final quarter, all that the Lakers had to do was defend extremely well. Even so, the Heat added 35 points to the Lakers’ 19 but could not diminish the deficit.

The NBA Finals 2020 will be remembered for a long time as a story of ‘never say die’!