GAME 1: HEAT DEHADO SA LAKERS?

SINABI ni Jimmy Butler na hindi naniniwala ang Miami Heat na ‘underdogs’ sila sa NBA Finals bagaman sinimulan nila ang season na hindi kabilang sa mga paborito para sa titulo.

Haharapin ng Miami ang Los Angeles Lakers sa Game 1 sa Miyerkoles (US time) kipkip ang pag-asang maging isa sa longest-odds champions sa kasaysayan ng basketball.

Bago magsi­mula ang season, 11 buwan na ang nakalilipas, ang Miami ay itinuturing na 60-1 para tapusin ang kampanya bilang kampeon. Ang ibang bookmakers ay inilagay sila sa 110-1.

Kahit bago ang season restart sa Orlando noong Hulyo, ang Heat ay 30-1 para makopo ang titulo, kung saan ang malakas na Milwaukee Bucks ang inaasahang magiging kinatawan ng Eastern Conference sa finals.

Subali pinatunayan ng fifth seeds Miami, ang third lowest seeded team na umabante sa NBA Finals magmula noong 1984, na mali ang kanilang mga kritiko.

Winalis ng Heat ang Indiana Pacers sa opening round bago dinispatsa ang  Bucks sa limang laro sa conference semifinals. Pagkatapos nito ay sinibak ng Heat ang Boston sa anim na laro para umusad sa championship round.

“A really good team. That’s it,” pahayag ni  Butler nang tanungin sa estado ng Heat.”Not going to say that we’re any better than anybody else, but I just don’t think that we’re underdogs. I don’t.

“So what that nobody picked us to be here? That’s okay. Pretty sure nobody is picking up to win, either.

“But we understand that. We embrace that, because at the end of the day we truly don’t care. We’re just going to go out here and compete, play together like we always have, and I’m going to see where we end up.

“But at the end of the day we’re going to do this our way, the Miami Heat way, and that way has worked for us all year long.”

Ayon kay Butler, tumatag ang samahan ng Heat sa mga buwang magkakasama sila sa Orlando bubble sa Florida, kung saan nanatili ang mga koponan magmula sa restart para mapigilan ang pagkalat ng COVID-19.

“I think we enjoy each other’s success so much, man, that you can tell every single day when we’re in the hotel,” ani Butler.

“We talk about the game, but we also talk about how much joy it brings us to play with one another and how you can’t take this for granted.

“With this group we’ve got the right number of young guys who are super confident, older guys who are super confident, and then guys right in the middle who are super confident. It brings us pure joy to watch us continually grow as a team.”

Gayunman ay inamin ni Butler, maglalaro sa Finals sa unang pagkakataon, na maaaring maging salik ang lakas ng loob para sa hindi eksperyensadong Miami squad.

“We’ll see as the game goes. But I think there’s a lot of nerves for a lot of people, including myself,” sabi ni Butler. “This is the first time being here, so I just want to make sure that everybody is comfortable.

“We’ve been playing a certain way this entire year. I’m not getting away from that. I think that’s winning basketball for us, me making sure that everybody is involved. I think that’s part of my role on this team, so we’ll take it as the game goes, and we’ll figure it out.”