The pressure is now on the Heat after losing Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against the host Celtics.
Or is it?
It depends. The fact is, the Heat once held a 3-0 lead in the series. That lead has been trimmed to 3-2. On the bright side for the Heat, Game 6 is at Miami on Saturday.
On the brighter side, teams that have led a series by a 3-0 count in the NBA playoffs are 150-0. So not surprisingly, Heat wing Jimmy Butler isn’t feeling overwhelmed or seemingly, worried.
“We’re always going to stay positive, knowing that we can and we will win the series,” Butler said, via Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “We just have to close it out at home.”
- Big man Bam Adebayo echoed Butler’s sentiments, saying the Heat remain confident. “Why would we lose confidence?” Adebayo said. “When we started this journey, nobody believed in us. Everybody thought we were going to be out in the first round. Everybody thought we were going to be out in the second round. And now we are here one game away. For us, we’ve always had confidence, and that’s not going to go away.”
- Coach Erik Spoelstra indicated he’s not concerned with the perceived shift in momentum. “One game doesn’t lead to the next game,” he said. “It just doesn’t matter. It’s about collectively preparing and putting together a great game. We’ll play much better on Saturday. That’s all we just have to focus on right now.”
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