Jimmy Butler on Heat’s early-season struggles, his COVID-19 experience, and facing LeBron
Jimmy Butler is not one to sugarcoat what he believes is the truth.
So when asked how the Miami Heat has played this season, Butler did not mince words during a recent interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols.
“Terrible. Terrible. It’s terrible,” Butler said to Nichols in advance of Saturday’s nationally televised NBA Finals rematch against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center (8:30 p.m., ABC). “Not the way that we say that we want to play. Not the way that we’re supposed to be playing. But it’s OK because we will turn it around. Like the saying says, better late than never.”
The Heat entered Friday with the 11th-best record in the Eastern Conference at 12-17 despite returning 13 players from last season’s team that advanced to the Finals, including its All-Star duo of Bam Adebayo and Butler. Miami ended a three-game losing skid with a 118-110 win over the Sacramento Kings.
One of the biggest reasons for the Heat’s struggles has been the fact that Butler and other key players have been forced to miss time because of a combination of injuries and COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Butler was forced to miss 10 straight games last month because of health and safety protocols. The Heat posted a 2-8 record during that stretch.
“It’s scary,” Butler said to Nichols of his COVID-19 experience. “Don’t believe the reports of me losing 12 pounds either because that’s not the case. I had a light headache and I felt like I was ready to go. I wanted to compete. Obviously, you cannot do that. But it didn’t hit me that hard.”
As for facing the Lakers on Saturday night for the first time since last season’s NBA Finals, which Los Angeles won in six games, Butler said to Nichols: “Definitely mad that I didn’t win. Like, who wants to get that close to something and lose. It hurts. It really makes you mad, but we’re a different team. We want to show that we can compete. So that would be a good start, beat the guys that sent you home.”
There’s also Butler’s desire to beat Lakers superstar LeBron James. While Butler’s team is 14-9 in regular-season games he has played against James during their NBA careers, James holds a 12-5 record against Butler in the playoffs.
“I want to beat him,” Butler said to Nichols. “He always beats me when it matters. We all know that. But I really enjoy going up against the best just to show that I’m up there somewhere around that level. If you can compete with him, you can compete with anybody.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 5:20 PM.
