The Los Angeles Lakers will be looking to secure their 17th championship this evening, as they go into game five of the 2020 NBA Finals up 3-1 on the Miami Heat. The series hasn’t been easy, as it has arguably been the most competitive series that the Lakers have played in these playoffs. This was to be expected, as the Heat are a deep team full of exclusively tough players who arguably deserve the “resilient” monger more than the Nuggets. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and the rest of the Heat are no joke.
Still, it’s pretty easy to have your confidence lowered when down 3-1 in the NBA Finals against the likes of LeBron James. He’s currently 16-1 in his past 17 playoff series clinching games, and with Anthony Davis at his side, it’ll be hard for the Miami Heat to make that 16-2 after tonight. Bam Adebayo is not losing faith though, saying the following (reported by Mark Medina of USA Today):
“We have a chance. We still believe. They’re writing us off. Everybody is doubting us. But as long as the coaching staff and everyone has belief in us, that’s all that matters.”
Head coach Erik Spoelstra gave an explicit version of Adebayo’s confidence, saying he doesn’t give a shit about what me or the rest of the fans at home think.
Erik Spoelstra, on Heat being down 3-1 to Lakers, "There's a lot of narratives out there. We don't give an S-H-I-T what anybody says." Says he doesn't care what those on "comfortable couches" think about his team's chances.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) October 8, 2020
Jimmy Butler has continued to express confidence all series, even when down 2-0. This Heat team believes in themselves strongly, as they should. However, they really have their backs against the wall now as they will have to win three straight games against the Lakers. Other than the bubble seeding games where they were as unserious as possible, the Lakers haven’t lost three games in a row since losing four in a row in December, including games against the Bucks and the Clippers (Christmas Day).
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