Getty Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
We’re still waiting for the dust to settle following the Miami Heat‘s blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on May 23.
The Eastern Conference Finals are tied up at two games apiece, and both teams will be looking to seize control of the series when they face off in Miami for game five on May 25. However, until that game reaches its conclusion, the Heat’s 102-82 loss will remain fresh in everybody’s memories, no matter how badly they want to forget.
While some sections of the fanbase and media understood that the Heat was dealing with multiple injury issues, including the absence of Tyler Herro – one of their best half-court initiators, however, other sections of the fanbase and media took issue with the Heat’s struggles and began to write off their chances of making the NBA Finals as a result.
Speaking on a recent episode of SportsCenter, ESPN’s Stephen A Smith aired his frustrations regarding the Heat’s collapse, claiming that Boston is expected to progress to the final stage of the post-season in the coming days.
“Other than being pathetic, moribund, and absolutely God-awful, I think you could give the Boston’s defense credit. There is no excuse whatsoever for a No. 1 seed in a conference, a team that won 53 games this year, a team that’s vying for a championship as is in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Five starters have no excuse for combining for 18 points in a 48-minute game. That is beyond pathetic. It’s one of those things where they should literally seek permission to get back to South Beach, for crying out loud,” Smith said.
Jimmy Butler Shares Blueprint to Win Game Five
Jimmy Butler came into game four nursing a knee injury but played through the pain barrier as he tried to will his team into another victory. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned, with Butler providing six points, seven rebounds, and a single assist on three-for-fourteen shooting from the field and no made threes.
Speaking after the loss, Butler shared his thoughts on how the Heat could rectify their disjointed play and regain a foothold in the series against the Celtics’ stern defense, hinting that physicality will be integral to any additional success.
“I think we just got to be more physical. Like I said, when you shoot a lot of jump shots, which we tended to do tonight, it’s hard getting to the free-throw line. I think we have to be more of a forceful-type team, getting into the paint, not shying away from contact, and playing from the inside out. Whenever we do that and not shoot as many jumpers, we might get fouled a little bit,” Butler told reporters after the game.
Of course, health will play a huge role in Miami’s ability to play a bullish brand of basketball. With the current uncertainty around Butler, Herro, and Kyle Lowry’s short-term fitness, the Heat may need to be judicial with when they crank up the pressure.
Spoelstra Expecting More of the Same
None of the games have been close throughout the four meetings between these two teams, with most decided before the start of the fourth quarter. However, there’s no denying that both Miami and Boston are evenly matched in terms of both talent and depth.
According to Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, the fact that both teams match up so well is exactly why the meetings between them have been so wild, with huge swings and an insane variance in individual performances. However, due to the similarities between these two rosters, Spoelstra believes his team is fully capable of reaping revenge on Boston in game five.
“Whatever they have done to us, we can do to them. None of us are happy about what happened tonight. This is part of the playoffs. There are these extreme highs and lows, particularly when you have two teams that are pretty closely, evenly matched,” Spoelstra told reporters.
Game five projects to be the most pivotal meeting of this series, as whichever team tastes victory will only be one win away from making the NBA finals, so we can expect both sides to be physical and enthusiastic from the opening tip, but there’s no way of telling which roster brings it’s ‘A-Game’. Luckily, with game five due to take place on May 25, we won’t have long to find out.