NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 11, 2023

Jimmy Butler

Miami Heat

Practice Day

Q. A lot of the Nuggets had a lot of cuts, backdoor cuts whenever they were blitzing or you're blitzing Jamal Murray in the pick-and-roll. Is there any way you can clean that up moving into Game 5?

JIMMY BUTLER: Just be aware, put body on body, load and just pay attention, honestly. But that's not the only time that there are cuts or offensive rebounds. We have to know where everybody is on the floor and do a better job of stopping individuals from getting cuts. It sounds really easy, but it's actually not because they have been doing it all year long. But gotta pay attention, be aware.

Q. Other side of the ball, generating the shots that you want, you've been able to get to that sometimes in the series, a little bit tougher in the last few games. The number of open threes you've gotten has decreased as the series has gone along. Just wondering how you feel about the process on the offensive end, even if the results haven't quite been there. Do you feel like you're getting to what you want?

JIMMY BUTLER: I think so. I have to do a better job of getting guys open, whether it be off the screen or off my attacks, to make sure our shooters get the shots they normally get.

All the film that we watch, we've got to find ways to do it. It's not easy. It's definitely not easy when you're in the Finals. They are paying attention to us as much as we are paying attention to them.

But we've got to be able to do it if we want to win. We do want to win, so we'll figure it out.

Q. You all talked about the belief this team has, this fact that you feel you will be the first to four. Erik Spoelstra said the analytics don't matter when you get between the four lines; it's just about what's here and what happens on the court. Where does that belief stand now and how do you maintain it, knowing what you're facing?

JIMMY BUTLER: It's at an all-time high because it always has been all year, it always will be, the belief that we have in one another. It stems from the amount of time that we spend with one another and how we actually enjoy being around one another. And we know what each other is capable of.

We didn't come this far to stop playing now, no matter what the odds are, the analytics. When we get out there, we've just got to compete. We've got to win one, and then we've got to win another one and then we've got to win another one.

Q. What has Udonis' counsel been the last couple days?

JIMMY BUTLER: Same thing everybody has been saying: Ain't nobody got to four yet. So keep playing. Stay in the fight. Knowing that if we get this one, we're on our way to do something special. So we've got to win three before they win one.

Q. You guys have been on this mental and physical run for the past couple of months. How long does it take you to get over a Game 4 loss and sort of fill the cup back up? How long do those losses just sit with you?

JIMMY BUTLER: Not long. There's nothing that you can do about it once you lose a game. You can get better and learn. You go into the next one and make sure you win, which is what we must do. The next three are legit must-wins, or we came this far for no reason. Let go of Game 4, 3, 2 and 1 and focus on the one that is next.

Q. One of your biggest games in your career was Game 5 in the Finals against the Lakers back in the bubble. Do you recall something about that game that you can bring to this game?

JIMMY BUTLER: Absolutely nothing. I think I was a different player then. The team looked a lot different then. I don't even think about it. I think the group of guys that we have now, if that's what the game says you need to do, then maybe that's what happens.

But I honestly don't think about 2020, 2021, none of that. We're in this time right now. So I have to be the best version of myself now, along with everybody else on this roster.

Q. You keep saying you need to win the next three or you guys have done this all for nothing. You guys have had a pretty remarkable playoff run. Obviously you guys have a bigger ultimate goal here, but is there an appreciation, also, just for what you guys have accomplished so far?

JIMMY BUTLER: Not at all. At the beginning of this year, we talked about winning a championship, competing to get to this point. So that's always the goal. It's always a goal with the Heat. It's about winning. It's not about individual anything. It's about holding that trophy collectively as a unit, to be the best team.

That's where we're at. All the odds, 8 seed, dadadadada, nah, none of that matters. It's just two really good basketball teams. One has to get one win, and one has to get three. Let's just hope that the other that has to get three, gets three.