Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat are just a game back of the Brooklyn Nets for the final guaranteed seed in the NBA's Eastern Conference — but the superstar doesn't care if Miami is destined for the Play-In Tournament in 2023.
“I don’t give a damn,” Butler told Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports when asked about the Heat's potential playoff opponent. “I just love playing basketball. We can beat anybody when we’re playing the right way. Play-in, here we come. Playoffs, here we come.”
The Heat have looked solid over the last few weeks, winning three in a row and six of their past 10 with the postseason looming. But they've struggled to find consistency in 2022-23, only winning four straight once this season.
“It’s a lot of teams fighting to find that consistency. And we’re one of those teams, no doubt about it,” head coach Erik Spoelstra told Yahoo Sports. “We have not been able to get a grip on things. But we have to embrace the struggle, embrace the opportunities and embrace competition.”
The Heat will play two of the worst teams in the East to wrap up the regular season. The No. 12 Washington Wizards are in town on Friday night, before Miami heads in-state to face the No. 13 Orlando Magic on Apr. 9, the last day of the regular season.
Two more wins could vault the Heat into the sixth seed and a likely date with MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers; or, it could be the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lose one or both of the final two games and it's the play-ins in 2023.
For Heat's Jimmy Butler, it doesn't matter; he's confident in his game.
“I get in where I fit in,” Butler told Yahoo Sports. “If I need to shoot the ball in the fourth quarter, I get that. If I need to be aggressive in the third, I get that. First? I get that. I can read the game pretty well.”
The 33-year-old will need to be at his best if the Heat hope to head back to the NBA Finals after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
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