5 Comments from Media Session with Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic

The Miami Heat held their final practice today before game four on Wednesday night. Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic spoke with media afterward about their current mentality heading into tomorrow. Here’s what was said…

Post-Practice Comment #1:

“I think we just gotta start off better.”@5ReasonsSports

“I think going into this next one it’s up to the starting five to come out with a great start.” pic.twitter.com/Q36igrOOwp

— alex (@tropicalblanket) September 22, 2020

Jimmy Butler expanded on the idea of not getting behind early again in game four. He said, “I think we just gotta start off better.” He followed that talking about how much that falls on the starting unit. They must be ready to absolutely bring it out the gate, just as Tyler Herro does when he enters off the bench. Jimmy will be a huge proponent of not getting behind early, since he will need to attack a little more early on to control the pace. Goran Dragic is also coming off of a down game, which he will look to turn that around early as well. The more you hear these players talk after game three, the more it shows they’re ready.

Post-Practice Comment #2:

Jimmy Butler after being asked about playoff physicality: “There’s no friends in between those lines. Save that for after the game.” @5ReasonsSports pic.twitter.com/4eMFhPpJGm

— alex (@tropicalblanket) September 22, 2020

Jimmy Butler gave a pretty Jimmy Butler like answer when asked about playoff physicality. He said, “There’s no friends in between those lines. Save that for after the game.” And that right there is a clear representation of why Jimmy is a Miami heat type player. He’s as focused as ever right now, since they’re six wins away from a NBA championship. He even decided not to have his family come to the bubble, since he mentioned that this is a business trip. He seems as locked in as ever, and since that loss has synced in over the last couple of days, this team will be prepared.

Post-Practice Comment #3:

Jimmy: “We’re not gonna look back, we not gonna look forward, we gonna lock in on today.” @5ReasonsSports pic.twitter.com/bNmqtysnuy

— alex (@tropicalblanket) September 22, 2020

Jimmy Butler also talked about the preparation for game four after that loss on Saturday night. He said, “We’re not gonna look back. We not gonna look forward. We gonna lock in on today.” That sounds like something Spo may have said, since he’s been saying just one game and one practice at a time. And with this team, locking in on today is very important, since Spo has been cooking up a bunch of adjustments over the last few practices. Although he’s locked in today, I can guarantee he’ll be even more locked in tomorrow, with a chance to go up 3-1 on the Boston Celtics.

Post-Practice Comment #4:

Goran Dragic when asked about the feeling in the locker room:

“It’s great. We feel good. We did our job, we prepare well, and we’re gonna see tomorrow how we do.”@5ReasonsSports pic.twitter.com/aBmww87RLA

— alex (@tropicalblanket) September 22, 2020

Goran Dragic also got to discuss the feeling in their locker room right now. He said, “It’s great. We feel good. We did our job, we prepare well, and we’re gonna see tomorrow how we do.” A main takeaway from both this statement and Jimmy’s comments is that this team is extremely confident heading into tomorrow. At the end of the day, this team is 10-2 in this year’s postseason, which may be why this loss feels so odd for them. He mentioned the word “preparing,” which is what they’ve been doing a lot of since there’s been a bunch of film sessions over the last few days. Execution will be huge in game four, and there’s a good chance they’ll do just that.

Post-Practice Comment #5:

Goran: “Chemistry means a lot. If you wanna make a good result you need to have great chemistry.

We really enjoy spending time together. We enjoy playing together on the floor and you can see that energy transfers to the floor & I think that’s very important.”@5ReasonsSports pic.twitter.com/4rvSiJ9llb

— alex (@tropicalblanket) September 22, 2020

Goran also talked about the chemistry on this current Heat team. He said, “We really enjoy spending time together. We enjoy playing together on the floor and you can see that energy transfers to the floor.” This is something that Goran has mentioned time and time again. He really enjoys the bond of this locker room, and you can tell he’s having a good time going to battle with his teammates on a nightly basis. Goran finished off the media session mentioning their team defense. He said, “We need to do a better job containing the ball and helping each other.” That was a huge reason for their loss on Saturday, since guys like Jimmy weren’t helping when Jayson Tatum and others would attack Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson in the paint. If they clean this up, they’ll have a good shot at winning.