The Miami Heat hosted the Golden State Warriors for a much-anticipated fixture at this point in the season. While the Warriors are one of the best teams in the West, the Heat claim that label for the East.
Although it was a closely fought contest, the Warriors put their foot on the gas during the latter part of the game. This led to the Dubs winning the game and sending Miami Heat fans home disappointing.
Apart from the loss, the Heat made the headlines for another reason. During the match, the Heat’s on-court leader Jimmy Butler got into it with veteran Udonis Haslem and head coach Erik Spoelstra.
The altercation escalated beyond control as the three continued to exchange words while pushing each other simultaneously. Well, the reason for the heated exchange seems to be Butler disagreeing with coach Spo’s tactics. Following that, Udonis Haslem gave Butler an earful while using some pretty harsh language.
Considering that the Heat still hold the first seed in the East, opposing teams have been looking for a way to derail Miami’s amazing season. At first look, it feels like this internal conflict might do the job for them. But this is not what Heat point guard Kyle Lowry believes.
“We got great leadership, it won’t affect us at all.”
Lowry, "We got great leadership, it won't affect us at all."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) March 24, 2022
Apart from praising the great leadership, Lowry also stated that the heated exchange was nothing but a passionate incident.
“It happens. Honestly, it’s not a moment of anything. For us, it’s guys who really want to win basketball games.”
Kyle Lowry: "It happens. Honestly, it's not a moment of anything. For us, it's guys who really want to win basketball games."
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) March 24, 2022
Apart from Lowry, coach Spo also broke his silence about the altercation with Butler. He believes it was just a result of the Heat getting overwhelmed by the Warriors which led to the Butler getting angry.
At the end of the day, the Heat are always known for promoting the ‘Heat Culture,’ which flaunts discipline, work ethic, accountability, and enjoying somebody’s success. So it is unlikely that this alleged fight will have any impact on how the Heat play for the remainder of the season.
