Wade, Butler question teammates' desire to win, audacity to take big shots
Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler want their teammates to do better.
The "Two Alphas" (sorry, Rajon Rondo) were fuming after the Chicago Bulls blew a 10-point lead in the last three minutes of Wednesday's game en route to a 119-114 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Wade, a three-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat, said it pisses him off that winning doesn't mean more to his teammates.
"I can look at Jimmy and say Jimmy is doing his job," the 35-year-old told reporters postgame. "I think Jimmy can look at me and say Dwyane is doing his job. I don't know if we can keep going down the line and be able to say that.
"You guys see our lineup. There's a lot of shuffling around. Coach don't feel he can count on that many guys right now. That can't be."
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He continued to rip his younger teammates, who might be content with just being in the league.
"This just can't be acceptable if you want to do anything besides have an NBA jersey on and make some money. That's all we're doing," Wade said.
"Everyone don't care enough. You got to care enough, man. It's got to mean that much to you to want to win."
Butler, who was recently named an All-Star starter, echoed the veteran's sentiment: "We don't play hard enough. This is your job. I want to play with guys who care."
The duo wasn't done there. They also ripped an unnamed teammate (or two) for taking some shots down the stretch that they felt they should've taken, considering the two combined to score 21 straight fourth-quarter points for the club.
Nikola Mirotic and Paul Zipser missed open looks late.
"I understand if you've got an open shot take it. But at a point in the game like that, you gotta get the ball to your best players," said Butler, who finished with 40 points on 13-of-22 shooting to go along with four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Wade, who poured in 33 points of his own, weighed in on that, too, saying: "If you're going to shoot, you better have made that shot a lot and you better have put the work in. And I don't see that enough."
Butler added: "Let it come down on my shoulders or D-Wade's shoulders. Let us be the reason why. ... Be a star in your role."