Jimmy Butler thanks Bam Adebayo for his work against Nikola Jokic

One day before Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Jimmy Butlerstar forward for the Miami Heat, he is grateful for the work that his colleague Bam Adebayo has done to contain Nikola Jokic, center of the Denver Nuggets.

Adebayo has been Jokic’s primary defender in the first two games of the Finals and Butler knows how difficult it has been for the Nigerian. However, he is grateful for his great work.

“Bam has played incredibly well in these playoffs and in this series he has the toughest defensive matchup.Butler said at a news conference. “He plays with a lot of energy, he never gives up a ball, so I respect him a lot for that.”

Adebayo has played in all 20 games played by Miami in these playoffs and has averaged 17.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocked shots. With those numbers, the Miami center has shown that his effort has not been offensive. Thus, Butler assured that he will be one of the reasons why they can win the Larry O’Brien trophy.

“On offense he is doing everything for us. We need him to keep it up, he’s done it all year. He will be one of the reasons we will win the championship.Butler said.

The Heat’s starting center has defended 42 shots and only allowed 24 baskets (57.1%); while on offense he has made 21 of the 39 shots he has attempted in the Finals (55%).

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