Heat

Heat Notes: Jimmy Butler, Duncan Robinson, Kevin Love

June 11, 2023

As usual, Heat wing Jimmy Butler is keeping hope alive and talking confidently, despite the fact they trail the Nuggets by a 3-1 series count in the Finals.

Game 5 is Monday in Denver, where the Nuggets could close it out.

“We don’t have no quit,” Butler said, via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “We are going to continually fight … to get better. And then we are going into Monday and do what we said we were going to do this entire time and win. We have to. We have no other choice. Otherwise, we did all this for no reason.”

The Heat became the first team ever to advance to the Finals via the play-in tournament, and just the second No. 8 seed to win the Eastern Conference, joining the 1999 Knicks. And even New York did it during a lockout season.

They’ve done it largely by winning games they were predicted to lose.

“Going to Denver, if there’s any team that can get one anytime, anywhere, it’s us,” center Udonis Haslem said. “I believe in our guys. Back against the wall, you’re going to get our best version.”

Win or lose the Finals, the Heat are likely to begin their search for another star as soon as the series ends, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN. The Heat have been linked to Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard and several others.
Small forward Duncan Robinson has regained his shooting touch after an uneven regular season. “When you look at my career, I’ve had a lot of setbacks,” Robinson said, via Chiang. “It’s kind of like the story of my career, to be honest. Setbacks followed by breakthroughs followed by setbacks. I think I’ve learned over time to trust it and know that this journey is not linear.”
Power forward Kevin Love will drop to 1-4 in Finals series with another Heat loss. He went four times with the Cavs (though did not play in 2015 after suffering a shoulder injury). Love has reached the Finals each time he’s made the playoffs. There’s a chance the Heat could bring him back next year in free agency. They are incredibly loyal to their guys (such as Haslem).