Jimmy Butler Details What Went Wrong Against Boston Celtics and Subsequent Course of Action For Miami Heat

The Miami Heat slumped to a loss last night against the Boston Celtics. During Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, they failed to turn up and saw the Celtics walk away with the win. Post-game, Jimmy Butler was asked to address teammate Bam Adebayo’s statement about taking the blame for the loss.

Butler, who is the leader of the team, appreciated Adebayo’s spirit but said the blame was not just on him.

“It’s on everybody,” he said. “He does so much for us that it can feel like that at times, but it’s definitely not on him. It’s on us as a whole. We all understand that because nobody was playing the way that we are supposed to play; the way that we have to play in order for us to win, nobody. And for him to say that I respect it. I love him for it. But he can’t do it by himself. We’ve got to be there with him.”

Can the Miami Heat finish the job in the next game?

Butler was later asked if he needs to give Bam a “pick-me-up” before the next game.

“I will,” he said. “But I think he knows he can’t get stuck on this game now. We learn from it. It’s something that will pass. We need him to be who he is on Sunday.

“We’re going to watch some film. We’re going to learn from it. Not going to say we don’t already know what went wrong, but we will be ready to go. We will fix it.”

Bam had an underwhelming game with just 13 points and 8 rebounds. He has an excellent campaign so far, averaging 17.5 points and 11.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 55% from the field. It was a one-off bad game, and he shouldn’t be hard on himself for it. But it could also motivate him to go all out in the next game and dominate again.

But not just Bam, the whole team needs to improve. Their three-point shooting was embarrassing as they went shot 7/36 from deep at 19%. Going up against a team like the Celtics, they cannot afford to play so poorly. This loss should be a wake-up call for the Heat and will motivate them to wrap up the series when they meet in Game 6.