#Butler basketball schedule 2021 full#
#Butler basketball schedule 2021 series#

'We're going to have to be in the gaps, to gang rebound. 'We have to make things tough, get him out of his comfort zone, and figure out a way to get the job done regardless.'Īsked what is key to slowing down Jokic, Miami star Jimmy Butler replied: 'Guarding him as a team with all five guys.

Long-serving Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said: 'I don't think there's any version of a 'stopper' in this association. I think that's why it's going to be interesting.' We are getting everybody involved, we like to play team basketball. Miami are expected to task rival big man Bam Adebayo with containing Jokic, who has formed one of the NBA's most threatening offensive duos with Jamal Murray.īut the Serb said: 'It's not Bam against me or anybody against anybody. Jokic has averaged a triple-double across those games, winning MVP for the Western Conference Finals as Denver swept the Los Angeles Lakers 4-0. 'He doesn't have to look at you, he'll pass it to you right where you need it, so he is truly incredible to watch.'ĭenver have a 12-3 record in this year's play-offs and won both games with Miami in the regular season. 'If you try to double-team him, he knows where everyone is and makes the right pass. 'He just has incredible patience that no-one can rush him,' Nnaji added. 'His IQ is off the charts, and it's great because he goes against guys who are stronger, more athletic, and he absolutely torches them. 'He sees everything, he has eyes in the back of his head. 'He is literally a wizard on the court,' Denver forward Zeke Nnaji told the BBC. Since then, the Nuggets have developed into championship contenders, with Jokic becoming the face of the franchise.Ī dominant 6ft 11in centre, the 28-year-old was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 20, and coach Malone says Jokic takes more joy from creating for team-mates than scoring himself. The two-time MVP who 'torches' oppositionĭenver selected Serbia's Nikola Jokic 41st overall in the 2014 draft.

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#Butler basketball schedule 2021 series#

The NBA Finals are scheduled for 1-18 June, with the first game in Denver, live on BBC One.īut who are the key men and why is tennis star Coco Gauff hoping the best-of-seven series goes the distance? They survived, and two months later, the Eastern Conference's eighth seed also have a chance to create history after a remarkable play-off run. Meanwhile, Miami's play-off campaign was almost over before it began as the three-time champions lost their first game of the play-in tournament. The last win in East Lansing for the Bulldogs was a 24-21 decision in 1936.Top seeds in the Western Conference, Denver are favourites having powered through the play-offs to reach the Finals for the first time in their 56-year history. Michigan State is 9-2 at home against Butler. The teams first met in 1972 and played 23 times at home and away until 1971. Prior to the game in 2021, the previous meeting between the teams was in the 2010 NCAA National Semifinals in Indianapolis, a 52-50 Bulldog win. It will be just the third time Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo will face Butler. It will be the second time in the last three years the teams have played in the Gavitt Games, with Michigan State posting a 73-52 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Nov. This will be the 26th all-time meeting between the schools, with the Spartans leading the head-to-head series, 14-11.

#Butler basketball schedule 2021 full#

The Gavitt Tipoff Games are played on consecutive days in the first full week of the college basketball season.

The Butler at Michigan State game is one of eight to be held this year in the eighth edition of the Gavitt Games, named in honor of Dave Gavitt, the founder of the Big East Conference and a basketball visionary. – Michigan State's men's basketball team will host Butler in the 2023 Gavitt Tipoff Games, matchups between teams from the Big Ten Conference and the Big East Conference.