Jimmy Butler Confident Heat Will Shoot Much Better in Game 5
When the Miami Heat paid a visit to the Philadelphia 76ers late last week, a popular trend in the second-round series continued as the road team struggled to hit its shots from beyond the arc.
In Games 1 and 2, the Sixers struggled from deep as they averaged below 20-percent from deep in the first matchup. Then in Game 2, they slightly improved but couldn't hit on more than 30-percent of their deep shots.
When the Sixers returned to South Philly, everything changed. And suddenly, it was the Heat who struggled to hit their shots from deep at a consistent rate.
After chucking up 30 threes, the Heat averaged just 23-percent in Game 3 last Friday. Miami struggled even more in the following game as they knocked down just 20-percent of their threes on 35 attempts.
Like most teams, the Heat's struggles from the field contribute to other mistakes being made on the floor, which is something Miami's star forward Jimmy Butler pointed out after the Sixers defeated the Heat in Game 4 on Sunday.
"A lot of it comes down to us making shots," said Butler, regarding the team's struggles. "When we make shots, we tend to play defense. When we don’t, we don’t. That can be the case. In the pre-season, in the regular season, for sure. Not here in the playoffs. So, we’ve got to get back to being a defensive-minded team and letting our offense come to us second."
While Butler believes the Heat will re-focus and lean on their defense to help them succeed in Game 5, he made it clear that he doesn't foresee the same shooting struggles taking place for a third-straight matchup.
"I don’t think we go out there and shoot 82 bad shots. I think every shot that we shoot is going in," Butler explained. "We’re gonna take the same shots next game, and they’re gonna fall because that’s the way that we’ve been playing all year long. We’re not scared of missing shots. If anything, we probably should’ve jacked up even some more."
The Heat will return home to host the Sixers for Game 5 on Tuesday. Miami and Philadelphia will tip off at 7:30 PM ET.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
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