Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo slammed a piece of paper on the table and held his head in his hands in response to a reporter's question following Wednesday's 116-123 NBA Eastern Conference final Game One win over the Boston Celtics.
Center Adebayo, 25, and Kyle Lowry, 37, were asked about the Heat starting all three of their post-season series on the road, which resulted in three wins at the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, and now the Celtics. Miami doesn't have the advantage of being a higher seed because they finished eighth in the Eastern conference during the regular season.
Adebayo didn't take too kindly to the question, verbally clashing with the reporter, who then rephrased his question, which veteran Lowry gladly answered, while his teammate shook his head and laughed.
"I think we go out there and just try to win basketball games," Lowry said. "At the end of the day, we're the eighth seed so we're on the road. We've got to go out there and try and win games on the road and we don't have the advantage of having four games at home, so we've got to go out there and try to win games on the road."
Heat star Jimmy Butler was asked a similar question. When asked whether he believed Miami could go far in the Play-Offs despite losing their first play-in game to the Atlanta Hawks, and then trailing the Chicago Bulls in the fourth quarter of their second play-in game, Butler issued a defiant message.
"Damn right," Butler hit back. "I did. Damn right, we did. And the best part about it is we still don't care what none of y'all think. Honestly speaking, we don't care if you pick us to win. We never have. We never will."
The Celtics will host the Heat again on Friday as they look to draw level in the scheduled seven-game series. Both teams will also be keeping an eye on the ongoings in the Western Conference final, where the Denver Nuggets currently lead the Los Angeles Lakers 1-0 heading into Thursday's Game Two.
Keeping Butler fit, in particular, could be the Heat's ticket to NBA glory. The 33-year-old is is averaging 31.5 points per game in the postseason, drawing praise from Miami coach Erik Spoelstra.
"One of the premier two-way basketball players of this association... That’s what we needed," Spoelstra said of his superstar, who outperformed opposing star Jayson Tatum in the series opener, finishing with 35 points, seven assists, and, most importantly, six steals. "Down the stretch, Jimmy was able to do everything we needed, as a scorer and as a facilitator.”
Teammate Lowry labelled Butler one of the world's best. "It's fun... I think it's just great to be a part of this run he's been on since... I don't know how long it's been now... but that's what he [Butler] does," Lowry said.
"He's one of the best players in the world for a reason, and it's just a joy to watch it for a guy [who] wants it so bad, and he works so hard at this craft.
"It's important to, you know, enjoy his success. He gives us all the confidence to be successful and be aggressive and assertive. And that's what makes him special and that he's not about all about him. It's about our group and our team and everyone else."
