Did Guaranteeing Win Against Atlanta Hawks Humble Jimmy Butler? Not A Chance

Last week Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler basically guaranteed a victory against the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament.

The Heat lost and Butler took criticism for it.

A week later, he has no regrets. What else is he supposed to say? The Heat are going to lose?

He's taking that same mentality in their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks that begins with Game 1 today at Fiserv Forum.

"I think we can win but I'm never going to say we're going to lose," Butler said. "I don't think you can ask that question to anybody and they're going to say, `Nah, we can't win, we have no shot."

The odds are against the Heat in this series. The Bucks are the top seed while the Heat are No. 8. Only four No. 8 seeds have upset a No. 1 in NBA history. The Heat were among the No. 1s to fall when they lost to the New York Knicks in 1999.

"Let this [regular season] go," Butler said. "Let this play-in [tournament] go. Zero, Zero and then get to work."

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

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