NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

September 23, 2020

Jimmy Butler

Miami Heat

Game 4: Postgame

Miami Heat 112, Boston Celtics 109

Q. You said for months now how impressed you guys are with the confidence that Tyler has. You've been around a lot of rookies in your time. How would you put into context how rare it is for a guy who is 20 years old to come in and deliver on this kind of stage?

JIMMY BUTLER: Not too many people get an opportunity to make it this far in the playoffs and to be in a game like this. But for him, it's another day at the office. I think it makes all of us smile. We're all so happy for him because he knows what he's capable of, and he just plays with so much confidence. He's been doing it all year long. So to him, there's no pressure or anything. He's just going to keep playing basketball the right way.

Q. Did you guys think he was capable of this?

JIMMY BUTLER: Yeah, without a doubt. We know anybody on our roster that they are capable of that. It was his time. I hope it's his time the next game as well. It could be Duncan, it could be Bam it, it could be anybody. But he definitely willed us to a victory tonight.

Q. Tyler talked about your leadership and that you're kind of a big brother. What leaders did you have that helped form your leadership style?

JIMMY BUTLER: I have some good ones: Luol Deng, Booz, D-Rose obviously, Joakim. Some guys that really taught me the game. More than anything, they just showed me, what hard work could get you and if you never give up.

I think Tyler, he has all of that. He listens, he's learning and he just wants to win. So he's going to continue to get better. Obviously, he's a rookie, but I tell you, whenever he's out there on the floor, the swag that he plays with, the moves that he makes, you'd think he's been in the league for 10-plus.

Q. I know Tyler has had these moments throughout the season, but with how good he's gotten since you got into the bubble, do you feel like the game has slowed down for him, particularly over the past month or so?

JIMMY BUTLER: I think he's been playing this way for a long time. He's comfortable. He picks his spots. He works on everything that you see him do in the game, in the pick-and-roll and the iso situation.

I think the game slowed down for him a long time ago. Now, he's just playing at an incredibly high level. Y'all see it now because of where we are in the playoffs. But he's been doing this year-long now, and we want him to continue to play that way.

Q. What does it mean to be this close to the Finals, and also, could you reflect on the Breonna Taylor news?

JIMMY BUTLER: Yeah, without a doubt. I think it's some BS that they let that go down like that. I think everybody knows what's supposed to happen. I think everybody knew what was going to happen, unfortunately. But that's our country for you, to tell you the truth. Very, very sad, man, and I hate to see it. We all hate to see it.

And far as this close to the Finals, we ain't there yet. We still got one more huge game to get. Back to the drawing boards. Figure it out. Can't let up. Have to keep our foot on the gas pedal.

Q. You touched on it there about closing the series; the cliché, it's the hardest thing to do. Is it different when you know you have a team with the opportunity to close it out, and getting it done in that Game 5, and what is that mindset?

JIMMY BUTLER: The same way that we go into everything: We play to win. We're going to do it together. And as long as we play basketball the right way, guard, limit our turnovers, rebound, all of that good stuff, we'll be in a position to win.

We're going into it the exact same way. Knowing that we do have a chance to close them out, they are not going to lay down. It's going to be another dogfight.

Q. Back to the verdict with Breonna Taylor. As you were wrapping your head around all that, how did you deal with the emotions knowing that you also had a game tonight?

JIMMY BUTLER: Obviously there's always a lot of emotion that goes on, and you never actually don't think about it. Because it's always much bigger than a sport. It's always much bigger than basketball, because that could be anybody. That could be me. That could be any African-American.

So when you look at it like that, for me, it's always on my heart because I just think it's some bull crap. Going into the game, you do have to compete. But at the end of the day, I mean, we're people first, not just athletes.

Q. Not to even bring it back to basketball, I feel kind of sheepish asking you this, but you've hesitated on trying to take over games from the start of the season and people called for you to be more selfish to try to get the starts but you've always wanted to impart confidence to your teammates. Is a game like tonight with Tyler, are those reasons why you're willing to lose because you're always looking at the big picture?

JIMMY BUTLER: I think so. I've been on teams where I've put up a lot of shots and scored this amount of points, but I haven't won anything. So, obviously, that's not the formula.

Here, we all get a piece of the pie. We all hoop. It can be anybody's night. I don't care about stats. Never have, to tell you the truth. But I love when my guy is out there hooping. Going out there making shots, playing with confidence. I'm right there with him the whole way.

Q. Four players on your team combined for 103 points. I know Tyler was responsible for a lot, but when you have those four scoring like that, what does it do for you guys? And then the second part, the Tyler question, earlier this year he said that he met up with you in Chicago and was up at 5:30, work out at 6:00, breakfast, work out again, lunch, work out again. What did you learn from him during those workouts?

JIMMY BUTLER: That he's always going to do what he's asked to do and keep coming back better. I can tell you over and over again how proud I am of the kid. He cares. He does whatever you ask him to do. I probably like his brothers a lot more than I like him, to tell you the truth.

When you got those guys that are scoring the points for us, me, [Bam], Goran, and Tyler, I think it makes it a lot easier. We're not turning the ball over. We're getting shots on the goal. Play like that, good things happen.

Q. You've told us all the way, going back to training camp, that, hey, you guys don't understand, we got some dogs on this team and we got some players on this team. So I know it's all about win by any means necessary, but is there a part of you that almost enjoys it more when it's your guys that are doing this, as opposed to yourself?

JIMMY BUTLER: Yeah, I mean, I'm not worried about myself. I think I'm good to go. I've been in this league for enough time now. But when Tyler has a game like that, and when Bam has a game like that, or even Goran, to me, it solidifies why we are here. We couldn't do it without those guys.

I may get a little bit more credit than I deserve, but these guys have been carrying us all year long. They will continue to do that, and I'm just happy for them. I'm glad they are on my team, especially Bam.

Q. Tyler was the 13th pick. He said people didn't think he'd survive Kentucky; people didn't think he would survive the NBA, either. Is this kid being underestimated by just about everybody? Are we looking at like the next big thing in the league? What are we looking at here?

JIMMY BUTLER: I mean, hell, he just fits in here. I think everybody got that chip on our shoulder on our roster, in our organization.

But he's coming into his own. He will continue to grow. I said it earlier in the year: Miami is going to love him. They are going to fall in love with him. I know that they are and I know that they have. He's key to us going forward for a lot of years to come.

Q. What is it like, obviously, because Tyler consistently just keeps crediting you, actually, to just -- where his game is in his development, so what does that mean to you when he's saying that he credits you in his development?

JIMMY BUTLER: I think that's my guy. I think the world knows that. I think so highly of him. Just shows the type of guy that he is. He's always willing to give the credit to somebody else. But he's done this. He's worked at it. He's studied the film. He's the one that's in the gym. He's the one that's communicating like a vet to the vets. He did that. I didn't do it. Nobody else did it. Spoel didn't do it. We just pump him with a lot of confidence and I think he pumped himself with twice as much confidence. He goes out there and he performs, man. That's on him. That's on nobody else. He's done that.

Q. You wanted to wear a blank nameplate on the back of your jersey to start this whole bubble experience. For people that didn't understand that Breonna Taylor was this nameless, faceless person until we heard about her, do you think your point has gotten across for people who didn't get it?

JIMMY BUTLER: I hope so, in the sense that I'm no different than anybody else, and if you didn't know my name, that could be me. It still could be me even when people do know my name.

But that's what it's all about: the fact that we are all equal, no matter what, no matter the color of our skin. At the end of the day, we are all equal and we just need everybody to see it that way.