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Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is active and has not listed an injury designation for Game 4. Miami hosts the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Denver leads the NBA Finals 2-1 after dominating Game 3 in Miami.
Butler is not listed as injured but has not appeared to be playing at his full level. The star player has seemed less aggressive driving to the hoop at times during the Finals. He has not had quite the same lift and may be dealing with fatigued legs after carrying this Heat team on a historic playoff run.
Jimmy Butler's performance in the NBA Finals
Jimmy Butler forced the issue and took more shots in Game 3. He scored 28 points on 11-of-24 shooting. He played 40 minutes in the game. It is the 13th time in the playoffs that he has logged at least 40 minutes in a game.
Butler acted a bit more as a playmaker in Miami’s Game 2 win. He dished out nine assists and scored 21 points. Butler acting as a creator can spur the Heat into more of a team basketball approach.
That may be key for the Heat in tieing the series. Their best performance came in Game 2 when five different players scored in double figures.
Jimmy Butler needs to be aggressive downhill for the Heat offense to flow. When he attacks the rim, he often draws a lot of defensive attention which opens up shooters. It also allows him to draw a lot of foul calls and earn trips to the free-throw line.
Butler has not scored more than 30 points since Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. He scored more than 30 four times in the first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
One key to Game 4
The Heat are not out of it yet despite losing home-court advantage again. Teams trailing in the Finals 2-1 have won six of the previous ten championships. And seven times in the last 14 Finals.
A win for Miami would even the series at two before it travels back to Denver for Game 5. Miami became the only team to win a playoff game in Denver in these playoffs when they won Game 2.
