After losing their first home game of the playoffs, the Denver Nuggets scored a definitive win over the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Finals the other night.
Now the Heat are looking to even the series on Friday evening.
While some people are nervous after Miami’s defeat on Wednesday, others still believe they’ll win the championship.
Kendrick Perkins is one of those people.
“I still have the most confidence whatsoever in this Miami Heat team. They will make the adjustments tonight. Jimmy Butler will play better,” Perkins said on Friday’s First Take.
.@KendrickPerkins is still confident that the Heat will win the championship 🏆
"I still have the most confidence whatsoever in this Miami Heat team. They will make the adjustments tonight. Jimmy Butler will play better." pic.twitter.com/KxKkso8WvN
— First Take (@FirstTake) June 9, 2023
Perkins believes the Heat’s previous performances in this postseason are reason to think they can still secure a championship ring.
He noted that Miami have been counted out multiple times, including recently when the Boston Celtics forced a Game 7 on the road.
Yet, the Heat have rallied back and won every round so far, even when the odds didn’t seem in their favor.
As for Jimmy Butler playing better, he actually performed better in Game 3.
He led his team with 28 points and shot 45.8% from the field.
Still, that is not what most people expect when they think of “Playoff Jimmy” even though it’s the best game he has had in this series so far.
Butler will need to push himself even harder and lead his team better because the Heat will definitely need to pull off a win on Friday night.
If they lose both of their home games, it’ll put them in a significant 3-1 deficit that’ll be hard to climb out of.
It’ll be even harder because the Nuggets are such a dominant home team most of the time.
Perkins still believes the Heat have what it takes to overperform and impress again.
Fans of the team believe the same thing.
NEXT: Duncan Robinson Remains On His Own Personal Title Quest
