NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

October 6, 2020

Jimmy Butler

Miami Heat

Game 4: Postgame

Los Angeles Lakers - 102, Miami Heat - 96

Q. I'm guessing you probably knew what the noise was when it was 2-0 and I don't know if you'll hear any of it, but it will be the same noise now that it's 3-1. How much do you guys kind of relish that really everyone is going to say this thing is over?

JIMMY BUTLER: That's okay. We know we got to be better. We know that we can be better, as I've been saying this entire time. We showed glimpses of it and then we made some crucial mistakes whether it be on the defensive end or the offensive end and beat ourselves in the end.

But like I always say, they're a really, really, really good team, we got to play damn near perfect to beat them. We didn't do that tonight.

Q. Lakers really clamped down defensively, in the second half, I think you guys only had eight uncontested shots. Do you have any ideas about how you guys can shake a little more free in the next game?

JIMMY BUTLER: Move with a purpose, screen a little bit better, and make some shots. It's going to be some tough ones, it is. They're contesting every shot. I don't know what everybody's average wingspan is, but it's going to be tough. I just think that we got to do better getting ourselves in triggers, myself, Bam, Tyler, Duncan and take it from there.

But we'll watch this, learn from it, but we can't lose another one.

Q. You didn't see much of Anthony Davis as far as defensively in the first three games of the series, but you saw lots of him tonight. What challenges and impact does he present with his size and his athletic ability as a defender?

JIMMY BUTLER: I mean, he's an incredible defender. He contests a lot of shots, blocks shots. But I just think I got to be better at getting my guys involved, more dribble hand-offs, more screens, maybe playing a little bit without the ball, playing off the ball. That's something that I can learn from that I got to be better because I think that's my role is to make sure that everybody's in the right spot and that I'm putting us in the best position to win. So we got to switch it up a little bit.

Q. Would you like to see more of Davis in the next game?

JIMMY BUTLER: Sure. Whoever they put on me I got to do a better job of making sure we win, no matter if it's AD or anybody else that they have on their roster. I have a job to do, we have a job to do and we didn't do that.

Q. Tyler's obviously done a lot of great things in these playoffs, but with Goran out he is being asked to do even more. How do you think he's kind of handled these last three games since Goran's been out and any advice to him as the series kind of goes on?

JIMMY BUTLER: I think he's been playing incredible. He's making all the right decisions, he's taking all the right shots, he's just out there playing carefree, as he should. We want him to stay aggressive, be aggressive and continue playing the best version of basketball that he has. He's been helping us all year long, he's going to continue to help us, and I tell him, keep going, always keep going, if you make a mistake, forget about it, get back and let's try to run the next play.

Q. You said all along that this team plays with a chip on its shoulder, it plays well with its back against the wall. Why doesn't the confidence of the group shift, even though the odds are stacked the way they are right now?

JIMMY BUTLER: I don't think that it should. I just think we're so comfortable with who we are and how we play that that's what we're going to go out there and do. We're going to live with the end result. Obviously we want it to be a win, but we just got to lock in on us, knowing that we can control a lot of these things. But our confidence ain't going nowhere, it's going to stay high, I'm going to make sure that it stays high, because it's going to have to be at an all-time high to get this next win.

Q. What was your reaction when you found out that Bam was available to come back and play and how was it having him back out there?

JIMMY BUTLER: I was happy for him. I think the entire team and organization was happy for him too. He does so many things for us; another guy that can handle the ball, score the ball, defend, rebound, all that good stuff. I think that as we get him back into it and he watches the film with everybody else he's going to see how he can really, really, really put his imprint on the game. So I'm excited to have him back and we're going to do something special with him.

Q. Usually at this point of the series players are talking about how they have to make little adjustments with the scheme and things like that. But you guys were able to force a lot of misses at the end there and then they would just get the offensive rebound. So Spo said that the next game needs to be kind of won in the mud. Do you feel like there's some sort of adjustment that needs to be made or you just got to keep fighting and doing what you're doing?

JIMMY BUTLER: Keep fighting. It's kind of a back breaker though whenever you get a stop and then they get an offensive rebound. You talk about it and then it happens. And that's crucial possessions late in the fourth. I got to get in there and help rebound, everybody, we just got to put our nose on that basketball and get it up out of there. So I'm excited to see how we bounce back, it's a hard time to bounce back, but I know we can do it.