The Miami Heat are down 3-1 in the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets, but they are not out. From Day 1, the Heat have demonstrated their scrappiness. They earned the No. 8 seed into the postseason through a second chance in the play-in tournament. They knocked out Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee in the first round, then the New York Knicks, and rebounded in Game 7 in Boston after squandering 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. The Heat are used to doing things the hard way.
The Heat are trying to channel the inner belief Serbian great Novak Djokovic displayed as they face another Serbian standout in Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic. “(Djokovic) has talked about that mental side of the game,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “We have a very stubborn and defiant group, and I think it’s good to have a little bit of defiance from time-to-time.”
For tenacity, the Heat don’t need to look any farther than their mascot, Burnie, who took two punches from former UFC champion Conor McGregor in a skit that led to the person in the costume seeking medical attention. Burnie could be back on the court, though, should the Heat force a Game 6 in Miami on Thursday.
The Nuggets have history on their side. Of the 36 teams that have fallen behind 3-1 in the NBA Finals, the lone one to come back to win the title was the 2016 Cleveland team led by LeBron James against Golden State.
On that Cavaliers squad was Kevin Love, the 34-year-old Heat forward who’s been preaching that anything can happen. “You really just have to take it one possession at a time,” Love said. “It’s just one possession, one quarter, half-to-half. Just get it done by any means necessary and figure the rest out.”
Butler couldn’t agree more. Just don’t mention moral victories and how much they’ve accomplished. It’s ring or bust. “All the odds, 8-seed — nah, none of that matters,” Butler said. “It’s just two really good basketball teams. One has to get one win, and one has to get three. Let’s just hope that the other that has to get three, gets three.”
The Miami Heat are searching for inspiration anywhere they can find it, including a tennis great’s record-setting win at the French Open and even their mascot’s quick rebound from a few punches to the face.
Jimmy Butler and the Heat might be down 3-1 in the NBA Finals against the Nuggets heading into Game 5 on Monday night in Denver, but they hardly consider themselves out.
“(Our belief) is at an all-time high,” said Butler, whose team is hoping to avoid watching the Nuggets celebrate their first NBA title. “It always has been all year. It always will be.”
From Day 1, the Heat have demonstrated their scrappiness. At first, it was in scrimmages against each other in training camp and later in earning the No. 8 seed into the postseason through a second chance in the play-in tournament. They knocked out Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee in the first round, then the New York Knicks, and rebounded in Game 7 in Boston after squandering 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
H2: The Heat’s Scrappiness
The Miami Heat have been scrappy from Day 1. They demonstrated their scrappiness in scrimmages against each other in training camp and later in earning the No. 8 seed into the postseason through a second chance in the play-in tournament. They knocked out Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee in the first round, then the New York Knicks, and rebounded in Game 7 in Boston after squandering 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
H2: Channelling Novak Djokovic’s Inner Belief
The Heat are trying to channel the inner belief Serbian great Novak Djokovic displayed as they face another Serbian standout in Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic. “(Djokovic) has talked about that mental side of the game,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “We have a very stubborn and defiant group, and I think it’s good to have a little bit of defiance from time-to-time.”
H2: Burnie’s Tenacity
For tenacity, the Heat don’t need to look any farther than their mascot, Burnie, who took two punches from former UFC champion Conor McGregor in a skit that led to the person in the costume seeking medical attention. Burnie could be back on the court, though, should the Heat force a Game 6 in Miami on Thursday.
H2: Kevin Love’s Preaching
On that Cavaliers squad was Kevin Love, the 34-year-old Heat forward who’s been preaching that anything can happen. “You really just have to take it one possession at a time,” Love said. “It’s just one possession, one quarter, half-to-half. Just get it done by any means necessary and figure the rest out.”
H2: The Nuggets’ History
The Nuggets have history on their side. Of the 36 teams that have fallen behind 3-1 in the NBA Finals, the lone one to come back to win the title was the 2016 Cleveland team led by LeBron James against Golden State.
H2: Butler’s Belief
Butler couldn’t agree more. Just don’t mention moral victories and how much they’ve accomplished. It’s ring or bust. “All the odds, 8-seed — nah, none of that matters,” Butler said. “It’s just two really good basketball teams. One has to get one win, and one has to get three. Let’s just hope that the other that has to get three, gets three.”