Jimmy Butler Previews Game 2 Of Nuggets/Heat | 2023 NBA Finals

First question here on the aisle in the third row. Not much. I just think I gotta do a better job of getting the ball, demanding the ball, being more aggressive. That's just that, and that'll change come game two. Yes, they do have some really good defenders, but I've seen really good defenders before. I don't think I shot-faked a lot, though. I just think I was passing the ball to the open guy, which I will continue to do. Maybe I gotta get more layups, more dunks, more attempts at the rim to free our shooters a lot more often. But I think this whole playoff series has been a chess match for everybody on this team, not just myself. So going into game two, whatever it takes to win, if I gotta punt-fake five times or 15 times, you just gotta win. Michael Malone, after game one and even a few minutes ago, said he expects you guys to play with a lot more force in game two. What does that mean for you? And secondly, do you feel like you have to be more aggressive? Maybe take a couple of shots that are out of your character just to sort of loosen the defense? No. I'm gonna continue to play the right way. I'm gonna pass the ball to my shooters the way I have been playing the entire playoffs, the entire year. But yeah, I think I gotta be more aggressive, put pressure on the rim. And I think that makes everybody's job a lot easier. They definitely follow suit whenever I'm aggressive on both sides of the ball. So I have to be the one to come out and kick that off the right way, which I will. And we'll see where we end up. Not at all. I think I play basketball the right way. What's your process mentally to reset? How did you spend yesterday? Well, my daughter's out here, so ripping and running with her. Played a lot of spades. Spades didn't go too well for me yesterday, now that I think about it. I'm gonna do an escape room tonight. I think my guys went and saw Spider-Man today. Just doing normal stuff, because at the end of the day, I'm as normal as they come. It's not always about basketball. It will never always be about basketball. And that's how I regroup. I stay consistent in that, because that's what I know I can fall back on. Me and my guys are gonna love me whether I win or lose. My daughter's gonna love me whether I win or lose. So that's what I focus on. You've had confidence all along in guys like Max and Caleb. Do you feel like you need to say anything to them, given the way they struggled in Game 1 going into tomorrow night? Yeah, I need to say to them, I'm still gonna throw you the ball. And if you miss the next 10, if you're open on that 11th one, I'm still gonna throw you the ball. Because you'll never be the reason why we lose. It's always a group effort, and I want you to take the same shots, because they're gonna be there. And we are going to throw you the ball. Stay aggressive. Because you've been the reason that we've won so many games before. You're gonna be the reason that we win games now, and that's never gonna change. I have a lot of faith in those guys. So I'm in their corner. Bam's in their corner. Spoh, Coach Pat, everybody. So when everybody's in your corner, you only got one job to do. Shoot the ball. Jason, back left. Jason Jackson, Miami Heat broadcasting. Jimmy, despite the fact that Denver shot over 50%, you kept them 12 points beneath their playoff scoring average. Where do you build from there defensively? Do that again. Maybe hold them to 12 less points. Hopefully we can win a game. That's it. No matter how many points they score, we just need to score more. Get some more stops. Play harder. Do things the right way. We're okay. We really are. We're very calm. We're very collected. We have so much confidence still. It's not going anywhere. We're gonna believe in one another always, no matter what, home or away. And we still gonna get four. Alvaro, back left. Alvaro Martin, NBA Latin America and NBA Mexico. No two situations are the same, but you've had some roller coasters in this playoffs. What happens when the team wins three in a row, loses three in a row? What's the ecosystem amongst the players? Forget the coaches. How do you talk to each other? Who speaks up? Who listens, if at all? How does that work to get yourself set for the next game, whether you win or lose? I don't think too much has to be said. I really don't. Down 0-3, up 0-3 or 3-0. You gotta get to four. It's never over. Nobody's ever counted out. You gotta get to four. Once you get to four, it's over with. Down 0-1, we know we're gonna get to four. We're in there laughing, in there smiling, knowing that we can play better. We will play better. We have to be better if we want to win. Not too much is said. It's all about what we're gonna do. Back row, center. Jimmy, how would you describe the Murray-Jokic duo and what they present on the floor? Tough. Tough. They do everything well. You gotta guard both of them. Majority of the time, we're two people. We gotta figure that out because that's coming at us. Every possession, if not every possession, damn sure every other possession. We'll key in on it. We'll lock in on it. But it's tough, no matter who it is. No matter who it is, guard those two guys who are willing passers and can give you 50 on any given night. They got shooters everywhere on the floor. But you're gonna have to do hard things to get where you want to get to. The last two. Michael here in the front and Max left. Michael Pena, the ringer. How would you assess Nikola Jokic on the defensive end? I think he does well for what he's able to do. He moves his feet well. He's constantly making guys make decisions whenever they get into the paint. And then his outlet passes from a defensive rebound are very, very, very elite that he's been doing his entire career. So as much as everybody looks at what he does on the offensive side of the ball, he's a hell of a defender as well. Last question. Back left. Cooper Moorhead, Heat.com. Staying on Jokic a little bit. If he's always gonna be dropping back and staying between you and the rim and then they're also loading up the gaps on you, what is the balance between trying to get downhill but then also not just going straight in the bodies if they're gonna throw a lot of bodies in front of you? Pass the ball, which is what I'm gonna do. Shoot the ball. Make some shots, which I'm capable of doing as well. I just don't think we played our best game of basketball, and that's okay. We just gotta be better come tomorrow, which we will be. But I'm still playing the game the right way. It's not being passive. It's getting my guys involved. Because whenever they make shots, my job's a lot easier. Thank you, Jimmy. Peace. That's it.