Miami Heat on to Game Six: “Bunch of dogs in that locker room”

“We gotta bunch of dogs in that locker room that love competing.”

That’s what Duncan Robinson had to say following Miami’s big game five win over the Lakers. It’s obvious that motto begins with the Heat’s leader Jimmy Butler, who had 35 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, and 5 steals in 47 minutes.

Those numbers mean nothing to Jimmy though, since the only numbers that mattered to him were 111-108 when the clock hit zero. Jimmy knows that he can step up when it matters, but more importantly he has been trying to instill in others that they need to be ready as well.

Jimmy Butler has had a message for Duncan Robinson for a while now, which he tried to instill in him more following the game two loss. They had a little meeting in Jimmy’s room, which he was just letting him know that he needs to continue to shoot no matter what.

Jimmy said after game five, “You can’t shoot the ball if you don’t have the ball.”

This game five win just showed once again that it can be any player on any given night. Jimmy will do his thing no matter what, but having a bunch of guys that can explode out of nowhere.

Last night, that guy was clearly Duncan Robinson who hit seven three pointers, but he wasn’t the only one who stepped up. Kendrick Nunn took control of the game at one point, mostly since he had confidence in himself with the ball in his hands. And that all starts with the support of Erik Spoelstra. Even after a tough game four performance, he showed that he believes in Kendrick and he delivered. When Kendrick plays with confidence, he’s a totally different player. His play-making and defensive abilities begin to shine, which is why this game will be important for the rest of the series.

They won this game without huge performances from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Bam struggled with finding that offensive aggression and intensity that he usually has, but it may have something to do with not being 100%. Tyler on the other hand is being targeted by the Lakers defense constantly, which consequently opens up the game for others. That won’t be the case for long though, since a breakout Tyler Herro game is coming, and it could be tomorrow night.

This team just continues to show their resilience and fight to the finish. This team truly believes that they can win a title right now, especially since they see their leader leaving everything he possibly has on the floor.

This team truly is just a “bunch of dogs,” that are hungry to finally achieve what they have wanted their whole lives.

They are now two wins away from holding up that Larry O’Brien trophy.

It’s time to get what is yours.