The Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler is leading the team in points, minutes, assists, and steals per game this postseason. He also takes on the roles of sommelier, barista, and DJ during team dinners and celebrations.
After taking command of the locker room’s sound system, Butler has made Morgan Wallen’s “Somebody’s Problem” the team’s anthem. The song has nothing to do with basketball, but it doesn’t matter to the Heat. The team has taken a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics.
With the third game of the East finals on Sunday night, the Heat are in prime position to reclaim the conference title they lost to the Celtics last season. Butler, averaging 31.1 points in the postseason, declared, “We are going to ride with one another until the wheels fall off,” showing the Heat’s determination to secure the victory.
The Heat has won ten out of thirteen games during the playoffs, performing better than during the regular season when they never won more than ten games out of thirteen. They have overcome 12-point deficits six times in these playoffs, which is more times than the rest of the NBA combined (five).
The Heat’s coach, Erik Spoelstra, attributed the team’s resilience to their experience from last year’s Eastern Conference Finals when Boston won three games on Miami’s home floor. Now, the Heat is determined to keep up the momentum and secure their position in the upcoming NBA Finals.
Boston’s Grant Williams described his team’s current situation as a real decision to make. “That decision’s going to be, ‘Are we going to come back and really set the tone for the rest of this year and make a statement?’ or ‘Are we going to come out and lay down?’”
Miami has a strong record when taking a 2-0 series lead, having won all 17 of the previous ones where they took that lead. Meanwhile, the Celtics have lost 15 of their previous 16 series after falling behind in the first two games.
Celtics starters Jaylen Brown and Al Horford have had a difficult time shooting in this series, while Robert Williams has been on fire, making 11 consecutive field goals through two games.
Bam Adebayo of the Heat has had an impressive record during the first two games, leading for rebounds and assists.
Although Miami is currently slightly favored to win the series, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Boston Celtics are still given 3.5-point favorites to win Game 3. FanDuel also has the Celtics with better odds to win the NBA title than the Miami Heat.
On Saturday, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla emphasized the importance of effort and details, saying, “If you don’t execute, that’s important.”