Miami Heat guard Jimmy Butler let the world in on a tip as to why he's always ready for the next game, even after playing an extreme amount of minutes and shouldering a heavy workload on both ends.
When asked by the press about the secret to his unwillingness to bow down to fatigue, Butler responded with a comical answer involving Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra:
https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1313205669244198913
For what it's worth, Spoelstra's tactic has been working. Butler played a ridiculous 45 minutes in both Games 2 and 3, showing no signs of being gassed in either contest.
The one slight glimpse that we caught of the five-time All-Star being winded was in Game 3 after he fell to the floor after drawing a foul. He stayed down while visibly catching his breath before shooting his free throws. He finished Game 3 with a triple-double, becoming only the third player to record a 40-point triple-double in NBA Finals history after Jerry West and, ironically, LeBron James.
Butler and company will march into Game 4 on Tuesday looking to even up a series that looked like it was going to be a possible sweep for the Los Angeles Lakers. The shorthanded Heat caught a bit of a break by Anthony Davis putting forth a quiet performance, but they also deserve credit for slowing him down and getting him into foul trouble.
Asking Butler to have a repeat performance may prove to be quite the challenge as the Lakers look to make adjustments and prevent that. Hopefully, big Bam Adebayo will be able to go for the Heat for Game 4 to give Butler some much-needed help at the rim. Unfortunately, even if Adebayo is able to go, it doesn't look like Goran Dragic has much of a chance of providing his services.
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