The Miami Heat forward is fully confident in his team’s chances to achieve the ring
The second round between the Nuggets and the Heat takes place at dawn from Sunday to Monday at 02:00 a.m. (CET)
Far from losing his temper after falling in the first game of the NBA Finals, Jimmy Butler, the star of the Miami Heat, assured that they maintain the confidence that they can prevail over the Denver Nuggets in the fight for the ring.
“We are fine, we really are. We are very calm. We are very serene. We are still very confident. He has not gone anywhere. We will always believe in each other, no matter what, be it at home or at home. And we’re still going to get four wins.” he said at a press conference.
That message, that he believes that they can and that they are going to “achieve four victories”, Butler repeated it over and over again this Saturday before the microphones. “With 1-0 down (…), we are there laughing, smiling, knowing that we could play better. We will play better. We have to be better if we want to win,” he said.
The Nuggets signed a great debut in the first Finals in their history and subdued the Heat with authority to take advantage in the fight for the NBA ring (104-93, 1-0 in the series). Butler did not have his best day and finished the game with 13 points (6 of 14 shooting), 7 rebounds and 7 assists. “I have to be more aggressive putting pressure on the rim,” the Miami star admitted. “I think that makes everyone’s job easier. My teammates copy me when I’m aggressive on both sides of the game. So I have to be the one to go out (in the next game) and start the right way, which I will, and we’ll see where we end up.”
Butler also pointed out that he keeps his faith one hundred percent in teammates who had a poor first meeting like Caleb Martin and Max Strus, who shook hands in a poor 1 of 17 shooting from the field and 3 points between them. “I tell them: ‘I’m still going to pass the ball to you and if you miss the next ten and you’re open in the eleventh, I’m still going to throw the ball to you because you’ll never be the reason we lose,'” he said. “It’s always a team effort and I want them to take the same shots (…) and stay aggressive,” he closed.
This Sunday will be played Game 2 of the Finals in Denver before the series leaves for Miami, which will host Game 3 and Game 4 on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.