MIAMI _ Jimmy Butler says he will celebrate success when he sees it. Even at 18-6, he's not sure the Miami Heat are there yet.
After a lopsided loss to the Boston Celtics, an 11-point deficit to the Washington Wizards and the need to go to overtime against the struggling Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks over the past four games, Butler said the Heat stride remains a bit too uneven for his taste, even with all the offensive superlatives in Tuesday night's victory over the Hawks.
"It's great whenever the end result is a win," he said, with the Heat taking a three-game winning streak into Friday night's 7 p.m. game against the Los Angeles Lakers at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I'm not downplaying anybody's game. I'm happy we won.
"But, I think, that's what anybody wants to talk about _ how we score the ball. I think everybody knows we can score the ball decently well. Win or lose, I don't think we played our best defensive ball."
It is why he said this two-day break between games comes at the right time, to afford the Heat the opportunity to retool in advance of a challenging upcoming schedule that includes games against the Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Philadelphia 76ers.
"You never take winning lightly in this league, because it's hard to do, home or away," he said, with the Lakers game to be followed by a three-game trip. "But you can learn from your wins just like you can learn from your losses.
"Obviously, you want to learn from your wins more because nobody likes to lose. I think we're coming together really nicely. We're just having some mental lapses and some slip-ups that we need to correct."
Among the changes in the Heat's approach this season has been a trapping defense. While that did help hold Atlanta's Trae Young to 21 points Tuesday, seven below his average, it also allowed the Hawks to put together three 30-point quarters.
"You have to know what you're doing," Butler said. "We go over it consistently. I think, at times, we get lost _ growing pains, obviously. We have to get out of that pretty soon.
"Everybody should be on the same page when we step out on the floor. I don't think we did that for a full game. Whenever we get to doing that, maybe you won't see as many lapses."
For Butler, there have been few lapses. He now has scored 20 or more points in six consecutive games, the longest such streak for the Heat since Chris Bosh did it in six consecutive games in December 2015.
And, all the while, he has yet to lose a home game since signing his four-year, $142 million contract with the Heat in the offseason.
"You can tell fans are definitely in the game," he said, with the Heat off to a franchise-record 11-0 start at AmericanAirlines Arena. "It helps to win, let's not overlook that. They help us. They get us going and let us know what we're supposed to be out there doing."
