Celtics

Jimmy Butler’s plan to stay loose for Game 5 involves beer, wine, and music

"We're going to listen to some music, you know. Going to drink some beers back there."

By Khari Thompson

May 24, 2023

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The Heat had an opportunity to slam the door on the Celtics and end the Eastern Conference Finals in Miami on Tuesday night.

They squandered it.

Now, as the series heads back to Boston for Game 5, Heat guard Jimmy Butler says Miami has to play like its backs are against the wall.

A Celtics win on Thursday night would give Boston a two-game winning streak heading into Game 6. If a Game 7 is needed, it will be in Boston.

So, how does Butler plan to stay loose ahead of Thursday’s game?

“Just stay consistent,” Butler said. “Do the same things that I do, that we do after every game. We’re going to listen to some music, you know. Going to drink some beers back there. Going to have some wine. I don’t think you can just focus on basketball at times. You have to be able to get away from the game a little bit.”

Butler spoke of the importance of building consistent habits.

“At the end of the day, you fall back on your habits,” Butler said. “How consistent you’re going to be. Myself and my teammates are going to do the same thing. We’re going to smile and be in this together like we always are. And we’re going to go get one on the road.”

Butler began his Game 4 postgame press conference the same way he did after Game 2, by singing as he walked in. He was fined $25,000 for skipping postgame interviews after Game 3.

“Everything is going to be alright,” Butler sang, while tugging on his hat as he sat down.

For the first three games, it was the Celtics who had major defensive issues that made them pay. On Tuesday night, those issues struck the Heat and Boston had its best offensive output of the series.

“Yes, they are talented. And I would tell you every game that they just missed a lot of shots. [Tuesday] they made shots,” Butler said. “But we didn’t do a good job of making them miss shots either. I think we let go of the rope on the defensive side of the ball, turned the ball over, didn’t get back in transition. All the things we said we were going to do, we did not.”

While Butler plans on staying loose, he also acknowledges that the Heat looked sluggish in Game 4.

“Our energy was low, which we cannot have,” Butler said. “And it’s definitely on myself and the starting group to make sure that doesn’t happen.”