Butler, Heat vow to bounce back after Lakers mauling
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 30: Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat defends LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the third quarter in Game One of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on September 30, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP
Jimmy Butler called on his battered and bruised Miami Heat teammates to toughen up after their game one mauling by the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals on Wednesday.
Miami talisman Butler was one of several players who picked up knocks during an emphatic 116-98 defeat in Orlando which saw key Heat players Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo both exit with injuries.
Butler played down the significance of his twisted ankle, and said the team would have to recover with or without Dragic in game two.
“We just got to be tougher,” Butler said. “We got to put up more of a fight. I don’t think we did that. And then it doesn’t help whenever we don’t make shots.
“It’s been that way all year long, whenever we start to miss a couple shots, we don’t do what we’re supposed to do on the other end.”
Unconfirmed reports on Wednesday said Dragic had suffered a torn plantar fascia, a foot injury which would almost certainly rule him out of the remainder of the best-of-seven series.
A defiant Butler said Miami had enough depth to counter the loss of the Slovenian shooting guard if confirmed.
“We got to try to cover up what he gives us and make up for it,” Butler said.
“We’re capable of it. We have to be. Moving forward with or without Goran we better hurry up and tie it up 1-1.”
Butler meanwhile said Miami were clear on what needed to be improved.
“We talk about how damn near perfect that we have to play, and that was nowhere near it,” he said.
“There’s nothing to be said. We can watch all the film in the world, we understand, we know what we did not do.
“We didn’t rebound, we didn’t make them miss any shots, we didn’t get back, all of those things led to the deficit that we put ourselves in.”
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said a string of mistakes had left his team with too much ground to make up as the Lakers surged into a 32-point lead at one stage.
“There were too many possessions where it was either a poor offensive possession or a miss that led to a couple of poor possessions defensively or vice versa, and those stacked on top of each other,” he said.
“We’re much better than we showed tonight. I don’t have my message right now, but I’ve got a night to figure it out.”
