"Sorry, Coach. I didn't do a very good job defending LeBron."
Butler returned to the bench, feeling a little guilty.
D'Antoni shook his head and smiled. "No, no, Jimmy. You did very well. You did an excellent job carrying out your assignment.
You played very well tonight.
I took you out because of our tactical adjustments, not because you played poorly.
You performed better than I expected.
Stay confident, keep bringing that enthusiasm to the game, and focus on your daily training.
I believe in you. You'll develop quickly, and I'm sure you have a bright future ahead of you!"
Coach D'Antoni gave Butler high praise.
That made Butler feel much better.
Su Yan walked over too, reaching out to slap hands with Butler. "Keep it up. You're a tough guy.
Your dedication and commitment to the game are qualities every one of us admires and wants to have.
Believe in yourself.
You'll be even better than you imagine!!!"
There wasn't a word of exaggeration in that.
Butler had entered the league as a pick barely outside the second round.
Even though he believed in himself and trusted that relentless training would make him better,
he surely couldn't have imagined at this point that he would lead his team to the NBA Finals twice as practically its lone star, even pulling off an eighth-seed upset along the way.
He might not have won a championship, but that résumé was impressive enough to make him fully deserving of the labels "superstar" and "tough guy."
"Yeah!"
With Su Yan's encouragement, Butler nodded emphatically, feeling more confident about his future.
A little later,
the timeout ended.
Both teams' starters returned.
The fierce battle continued.
Su Yan dribbled across half court, just stepping into the Logo Area on the right.
Wade immediately closed in