The cat and mouse of the Eastern Conference Finals came to an end on Sunday night. Miami Heat took the high-flying Boston Celtics by surprise as they never allowed The Green to go past The Heatles. Jimmy Butler and his Heat have now entered the dragon’s mouth as they face a dangerous Lakers.
Before 2020, the Heat played in only five NBA Finals, out of which they won on a handsome three occasions. Pat Riley’s carefully handpicked players are delivering just as good as his former rosters delivered in the past decade.
Jimmy Butler draws a line between complacency and fear
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The leader of the Miami bandwagon, Jimmy Butler, gave a post-game interview in which he reflected on the upcoming series against the favorites, Lakers. He looked unimpressed with the comparison between seed #5 and #1.
The 4-time NBA All-Defensive Team member detailed, “It’s all about who is playing the best Basketball at the right time. I feel like we’re still yet to play our absolute best Basketball. But we’re on the way, we realize what we have to do moving forward.
“So It’s going to have to be d—- near perfect to beat the Lakers. We’re capable of it. [We’re] not worried about no 5 seed or no 1 seed. We’re going to worry about us and be the best Miami Heat team that we can be.”
So it’s clear from his thoughts that the 6’7” is neither very laid back to reach the finals nor fearing what’s in front of him. The underdogs will face the favorites, and hence the pressure to deliver will be on the Lakers.
Heat’s Jimmy Butler on NBA Finals: “It’s going to have to be d—- near perfect to beat the Lakers. We’re capable of it. We’re not worried about no 5 seed or no 1 seed.” pic.twitter.com/ERu6Ig6dmd
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 28, 2020
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Miami Heat have their weapons ready!
Under the solid leadership of Jimmy, the Heat have come this far, surpassing all the expectations. Now, they’re only getting better and better with each passing game.
The athleticism and agility of a young Bam Adebayo helped him put a series-closing and career-high 32 points in Game 6. Duncan Robinson proved that he can be trusted for making three-pointers as he converted five in the last game.
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Jae Crowder and Tyler Herro will be required to be more consistent to gain that level of trust. Although, they also had a memorable series. The Lakers will be hungry to prey upon the Heat, but it’s certainly not going to come easy for them.
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