Following Miami’s Game 5 upset, Heat forward Jae Crowder spoke about how his team was finding motivation amid major challenges and doubt from the NBA community:
“You’re hearing how they’re putting the black jerseys on and sh– and how they haven’t lost a game in those and people start talking about that. That is motivation, and it’s always going to get under your skin a little bit,” Heat forward Jae Crowder told Yahoo Sports. “You obviously funnel that in the right direction and use it as motivation and it definitely helped tonight.”
Apparently, the Lakers had plans made for dinner that night with expectations that they’d close the deal and be crowned Champions…
The Lakers had made arrangements to celebrate at Three Bridges Bar & Grill, a popular dining establishment located on an island in the heart of a lake at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.
“They’re a great team and they’ve proven that. You have to respect them,” Heat center Meyers Leonard told Yahoo Sports. “I wasn’t aware of what they planned to do had they won, but we’re just a team that’s not willing to go home right now.”
Entering Game 5, there was a feeling around the NBA that this series, and this season, was over. With the title in sight, the Lakers literally had their celebration plans ready and the world was holding their breath waiting for the moment they’d been waiting for since last October. With LeBron and Anthony Davis, nobody gave this Heat team a chance — especially in those Kobe inspired jerseys.
But Jae Crowder and the Heat refused to roll over and Game 5 on Friday was just another showing of how dangerous this squad can be. So long as they keep that intensity, and continue playing with a team-first mentality, who is to say they couldn’t pull it off again?
The world may have them as underdogs, sure, but they’re going into each game with all the confidence in the world and, so far, the results have been quite impressive.
