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Jimmy Butler # 22 of the Miami Heat reacts during the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Two of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 2, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images / AFP
MANILA, Philippines – Jimmy Butler knows the dangerous situation the Miami Heat are in heading into Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, and he’s pretty sure it doesn’t make sense for them not to play their best.
The Heat are down 0-2 against the Lakers, and if their crippled roster isn’t enough of a burden, history isn’t on their side either.
Over the past 25 postseason games, the Lakers are 29-0 when they take a 1-0 lead. A 2-0 lead may not be insurmountable with teams capable of overcoming such deficits in the past, but it certainly seems so given that the Lakers have been able to dominate the Heat in the first two games.
But despite the Heat’s situation, Butler isn’t giving up just yet.
“That we will never give up. We’re going to fight and we’re going to ride this thing until the wheels come off. It’s not over, ”Butler said in a virtual press conference after the Lakers’ 124-114 win in Game 2.“ We’re down 0-2, so we have to do something special. We are capable of doing it and I would not like to be in the trenches with other guys except the ones we have.
The Heat played without All-Star center Bam Adebayo and starting point guard Goran Dragic, both of whom are recovering from injuries, leaving Butler to carry much of the burden on both ends of the floor.
Butler played for 45 minutes and finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and a record 13 assists in the playoffs. Kelly Olynyk played many minutes in the front zone to finish with 24 points and nine rebounds.
But their combined efforts weren’t enough to supplant LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
James had a triple-double of 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, while Davis had 32 points on 15 of 20 shots from the field and 14 rebounds.
Still, Butler thinks it’s too early to write off the Heat, especially given the way they’ve been able to prove others wrong this postseason.
The Heat entered the playoffs as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and very few within the NBA circle predicted that they had reached the Conference Finals.
Miami, however, defied the odds after sweeping the Indiana Pacers, shutting out favorites Milwaukee Bucks in five games, and dispatched the Boston Celtics in six games to enter their first Finals since 2014 when James was still playing for the franchise. .
“I think we just believe. We believe in each other. We believe in what we put together and we believe in what we do every day, ”Butler said.
“But like I said at the beginning of this, we have to play almost perfect to beat those guys over there. We still have to do it and if we don’t do it soon, it’s not going to be pretty. “
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