Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Butler has no interest in Heat being popular underdog pick
Jimmy Butler said Sunday that the Miami Heat emerging as a popular upset pick in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks is of little interest or concern.
“Man, look, the group of guys we have,” he said after Sunday’s practice at Disney World, ahead of Monday’s 6:30 p.m. Game 1 against the Bucks at the Wide World of Sports complex, “I think the majority of us, if not all of us, have a chip on our shoulder. And I think that’s what makes us who we are and what makes us play so hard, and play together so much.
“We don’t care who picks to lose in however many games. We’re going to go out there and compete, man. We know what we’re capable of. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters, because we’re the ones that’s here. We’re the ones that stuck in the hotel room. We’re the ones that’s out here practicing. We’re the ones that got to go out there and compete. So you pick and pretend you know what’s going to happen, but nobody does. We’re the ones that control that.”
In a typical season, the Heat would have found themselves practicing Sunday in Milwaukee, ahead of the first two games against the regular-season Eastern Conference champions, before returning for the next two at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Instead, all games are at Disney’s neutral sites, in the absence of fans, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, with the Heat living in the quarantine setting since July 8.
And for Butler, that’s fine, as well.
“It’s a little different. You can’t say that it’s not,” he said. “But it’s still competing at the highest level. Everybody’s fortunate to be able to play this game, the days that we do it. But we’re here to win it, home or away.
“I think this is the type of environment that we like to play in. We’re not worrying about the fans in the building booing us or cheering for us, for that matter. We’re just out here playing a Miami Heat style of basketball, playing hard, playing with and for one another, and that’s what’s been getting us these dubs as of late.”
The Heat are coming off a 4-0 opening-round sweep of the Indiana Pacers, with Butler ending that series with a strained left shoulder. They have been idle since last Monday.
“It’s not an issue. I’m good to go,” he said. “I’ve been doing what I’m supposed to be doing to get it right. Still lifting. Still working on my game. And I’m expected to go out there and compete at a high level. Whether it hurts or not, that’s what I’m going to do.”
As for the shoulder, it has not prevented the perfect pour amid the legend of Butler selling $20-a-cup coffee out of his hotel room — even to teammates for whom he says he has the utmost respect.
“With these guys here, they just work so incredibly hard. They don’t really give a damn about what anybody’s saying or typing or any of the other stuff that’s on the internet,” he said. “They just come here and work. And I think that’s how I am in a lot of ways. So we just understand one another. And here, they’re buying $20 cups of coffee, so it always helps.”
“We’re the ones that stuck in the hotel room. We’re the ones that’s out here practicing. We’re the ones that got to go out there and compete. So you pick and pretend you know what’s going to happen, but nobody does. We’re the ones that control that.”
— Jimmy Butler, Heat forward