Why the Miami Heat Won in Denver When No One Else Could (with Highlights)

The talk of the 2023 NBA playoffs has been the 3 series upsets pulled off by the 8-seed Miami Heat, but the Denver Nuggets have had a whale of a postseason over on the Western side.

Entering the NBA Finals, the Nuggets had yet to lose on their home court this postseason. They easily handled Miami in Game 1 to push their 2023 postseason home record to 9–0.

Catch any media coverage of the NBA Finals series following that Game 1 blowout? There was nothing positive being said about Miami. Nothing. The narrative had abruptly changed from Miami has a chance if they play well to we don’t think Miami can win a single game.

Max Strus – one of the Heat’s best three-point shooters – was 0-10 from the field and 0-9 from deep in Game 1. Another sharpshooting guard the Heat have come to rely on lately – Duncan Robinson – wasn’t much better. Duncan made just 1 of his 6 field-goal attempts in the Game 1 blowout loss.

It was clear the Heat didn’t have a chance if they continued to play like they did in Game 1, but the so-called experts were acting like Miami couldn’t bounce back and show some of the same moxie that they showed in getting by Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Erik Spoelstra Changes the Plan Between Games 1 and 2

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has been on the sidelines in Miami since 1997 and has been the head honcho since 2008. As the head, he’s a 2-time NBA champion, 6-time conference champion, and a first-ballot Hall of Famer as soon as he retires. He knows how to adjust when things aren’t working.

Not only did the Heat need to figure out their shooting problems before Game 2, but they needed to come up with a better plan to slow down Nikola Jokic. Notice we said “slow down” and not “stop” Jokic. There is no stopping Joker, but you can implement measures to hamper his production.

Spoelstra did not address the team’s shooting woes beyond reassuring Strus and Robinson that they needed to continue hosting them up. Spoelstra had faith that his team – who ranked 10th in three-point attempts during the regular season and 2nd in three-point percentage during this postseason – would get shots to fall in Game 2. There were few adjustments needed on this end.

Their biggest concern, by far, was stopping Jokic on the defensive end. Forget about how Jeff Green and Aaron Gordon are bigger than Jimmy Butler. Forget about how Jamal Murray outshot the Heat guards in Game 1. Forget about how Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was a thorn in the Heat’s side. Spoelstra’s game plan was simple heading into Game 2 – let Nikola Jokic score.

Wait! What? Let him score? Isn’t that the opposite of what you’re supposed to do in basketball?

It’s a radical idea, to be sure. An idea that is deemed stupid if it fails but genius if it works. You see, throughout the entire opening game of the series, Spoelstra elected to send double teams Jokic’s way – forcing the ball out of the big fella‘s hands. Jokic’s scoring was held in check as he only put up 5 shot attempts in the first three quarters of Game 1, but he’s such a good passer that he was able to dominate the game with 14 assists.

ESPN sideline reporter Doris Burke even expressed amazement during her postgame interview with Jokic that he was able to impact the game so heavily and clearly show that he was the best player on the court even though he barely shot the ball in the first 36 minutes of the game.

Double teaming Jokic and forcing him to kick the ball to his teammates is the intuitive option, but it clearly didn’t work. Spoelstra knew he needed to try something counterintuitive in Game 2.

The Heat Decide to Let Joker Get His but Take Away the Passing Lanes

The second game began and the difference was immediately apparent on the defensive end. There were some offensive changes, too – and we’ll get there – but we need to focus on the defensive side of the ball first because that is where the Heat have made their money this season.

Check out a couple of these plays here in which Jokic was able to earn a tough 2 points inside.

On this first one, he’s guarded by Bam Adebayo – who is undersized – but the double never comes. Jokic is given time to bang and bruise his way inside with his 280-pound frame. You can see that Max Strus swipes at the ball a little right at the end, but we don’t believe this was supposed to happen as it allowed MPJ (#1) to cut right to the hoop.

Unlike Denver’s offense in Game 1, though, there was no rhythm to this possession. The whole back down of Bam took so long that Jokic didn’t see the cutter and instead settled for a difficult jump hook. Joker got 2 points, but wore himself out in the process. Also, unlike in Game 1 where he was getting his teammates involved and into the rhythm of the game, many of the Nuggets players found themselves standing around with their hands in their pockets as Jokic was given all the time in the world to bang around down low.

Here’s another one where Cody Zeller is at a clear disadvantage in this matchup as Jokic gets the ball in isolation about 10 feet from the hoop, but the Heat resist the urge to come over and help. Again, they forced Jokic to expend a lot of energy and make a very taxing 2-point shot.

This is what the Heat forced Jokic to do all night. No double teams meant no easy passes to the corner for wide-open threes. They made Jokic expend energy and keep the ball in his hands for inordinate amounts of time.

Joker totalled a whopping 14 assists in Game 1. He managed just 4 in Game 2. 4 measly assists – his lowest total in his past 20 playoff games. The Nuggets are at their best when they’re whipping the ball around the court with Jokic acting as floor general. Erik Spoelstra wanted to take that away from Denver and see how they handled it.

The plan worked brilliantly. Of course, Jokic is a 2-time MVP and was the runner-up for the award this season – so he can certainly score when he’s left one on one. And score he did – Jokic put up 41 points on 16-28 shooting in Game 2. This was his highest-scoring effort since Game 4 against the Suns when he dropped 53.

Spoelstra didn’t care about the points, though. He was worried about Jokic‘s assist number. Jokic’s 14 assists in Game 1 absolutely picked the Heat’s defense apart and won Denver the game. He only dished out 4 assists to his teammates in the Game 2 loss. Denver was forced into a completely different style of game, one that clearly benefited Miami.

In the first quarter of Game 1, Jokic had only scored 2 points on 1 shot attempt, but had already dished out 6 assists. His Nuggets were up by 9 points at the end of the 1st quarter in that game. Jokic was unrecognizable in the 1st quarter of Game 2. He was a shooting machine – scoring 11 first-quarter points on 9 field-goal attempts – including 2 three-pointers – but only doled out 2 assists. This would be his high assists mark for any period in the game.

Jokic Unable to Take Over in Fourth Quarter Like the First Game

Here’s another example of the exhausting types of buckets Nikola Jokic was getting Sunday night. He runs in from offscreen to grab a loose ball, collides hard with Gabe Vincent, and then bullies his way into the paint for a little push shot.

Again, note how the Heat refuse to help in the paint to stop Jokic even though Gabe Vincent clearly can’t hang with the big fella.

Yeah, it’s two points, but Jokic was wearing himself out. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but he’s not in the best shape in the world. He’s not used to playing this physical, and it showed by the 4th quarter.

In the 4th quarter of Game 1, Jokic scored 12 points on 4-7 shooting and made 4-4 free throws. His matchup – Bam Adebayo – was held to just 2 points on 1-2 shooting. Jokic still had a lot left in the tank and dominated the final quarter.

Joker was still good offensively in the final quarter of Game 2 – scoring 10 points on 4-5 shooting – but he had nothing left in the energy reserves with which to play defense. Bam Adebayo made every shot he took in the 4th and scored 7 points with 3 assists and a block. Also, Jimmy Butler, who the Nuggets kept in check though the first 3 quarters – had a nice fourth with 8 points on 3-5 shooting because Joker (who isn’t a great rim protector in the first place) was totally unable to protect the rim.

The onus is now back on Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone to readjust to Spoelstra’s initial adjustment. He can’t have his star gassed in crunch time. Aren’t 7-game series awesome?

Strus, Vincent, and Robinson Take Advantage of Some Shoddy Denver D with a Barrage of Threes

Now, onto the offense. The Heat did a much better job defensively in Game 2, but we knew they would need to score more than the 93 points they managed in Game 1 if they wanted to outpace the prolific Nuggets offense. Denver ranked 2nd in offensive efficiency and 11th in points per game during the regular season, so the Heat would need to score as well as play excellent defense in order to have a chance. This is the NBA Finals after all, and the teams that make it this far are supposed to be well-rounded.

Eric Spoelstra didn’t win Coach of the Year (Mike Brown did), but he sure deserves it for how he’s helped his team navigate their way through the postseason bracket.

Spoelstra‘s adjustments on the defensive end were crucial for the Heat to have a chance, but one could argue that his decision to run plays for Max Strus right out of the gate in Game 2 set the tone for the win.

Remember, Max Strus is a volume three-point shooter, but was 0-9 from deep in Game 1. That’s horrible. A fella could lose all confidence after a dud performance like that in the Finals. The Heat have an amazing support system in place, and it starts with the veteran coach Eric Spoelstra.

Just like Spoelstra didn’t let Duncan Robinson lose faith during the regular season when he wasn’t getting minutes, Spoelstra knew he couldn’t afford to lose Max Strus in Game 2. He needed a confidence boost, stat.

Here’s a look at the neat little inbounds play that got Strus a clean look from the corner within the first minute of the first quarter in Game 2.

It’s a nice play, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope certainly fell asleep defensively. KCP didn’t expect to see a wall of screeners when he turned around from guarding the inbounds and got lost. Strus never should’ve had that much space to get the shot off, but there was nobody more needing of a blown defensive assignment than Max Strus in the first quarter of Game 2.

Blown defensive assignments by Denver were nonexistent in Game 1, but would unfortunately become a common theme of Game 2. Michael Malone said it best in his postgame presser. The Nuggets head coach said his team had so many defensive lapses in Game 2, and that the Heat took advantage of every single one.

About 2 game minutes later, Strus was left wide open in the same corner and swished this one home. You might not be able to tell in this muted GIF, but the Nuggets needed a stop-the-bleeding timeout after the second Strus triple. It was less than 3 minutes into Game 2 and this one already felt so much different than Game 1. The Heat came out swinging while the Nuggets were on their heels unprepared to fight.

Jimmy Butler Unable to Get a Lot Going in Game 2

Miami was able to build up an 11-point lead in the first quarter thanks to 4 three-pointers from Max Strus in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Heat really could have put their foot down on Denver’s neck and applied some serious pressure had Jimmy Butler also brought his A-game, but things were rough for Butler all evening Sunday.

Butler did score 21 points in the game, but did so on 36% shooting and was a miserable 4-14 entering the 4th quarter. Here’s a clip of a possession in which Butler actually made a basket, but really had to work for it against some tenacious D by KCP.

Butler’s struggles offset the early three-point barrage by Max Strus and, before long, the Nuggets had stormed back and claimed a lead of their own in the 2nd quarter. Then, it was the Nuggets who were able to extend a double-digit advantage. If Miami wasn’t careful, they were going to be in another deep hole, and all of their strategic game planning adjustments would be for naught.

This steal and subsequent and-1 jam from the point guard – Jamal Murray – epitomized Denver’s 2nd-quarter run.

Murray was hyped. The crowd was loving it. Miami needed something to break their way … and fast.

Nuggets Shoot Themselves in Foot with Terrible Perimeter Defense

Denver was winning Game 2 by quite a lot. The Heat were flustered, sped up, turning the ball over. Much of this 2nd-quarter run was occurring with Jokic on the bench. The Nuggets had Miami right where they wanted them. And they gave it all away.

How can a team who’s not particularly great offensively (Miami) cover a 15-point deficit when their star is having an off night? Defensive lapses.

The Nuggets were blowing assignments and allowing Heat sharpshooters 5-6 feet of space to set up and hit shots.

This next one makes zero sense. Nuggets rookie Christian Braun follows Duncan Robinson (a shooter-only type) on a curl, leaving Gabe Vincent wide open. Duncan can’t hurt you in the paint, silly! That’s either a case of not doing your homework before the game or letting the emotion of the moment get the best of you. Braun knows better, but it cost his team 3 points at a moment where they really couldn’t afford it.

The Nuggets Still Almost Rally Back to Tie the Score

Strus is hitting corner threes. Duncan Robinson is lighting it up in the 4th quarter. The defensive changes on Jokic are working to perfection. Miami is playing an excellent game of basketball while the Nuggets are making mistake after mistake.

All of this, and the Nuggets only trailed by 3 with 10 seconds to go and Jamal Murray – a guy who’s shooting 39.1% from deep this postseason – had a look to send the game to overtime.

In a postgame interview, Bam Adebayo was asked what was going through his mind as the ball left Murray’s fingers. “I didn’t want it to go in,” was the response. Same here, Bam. Because now we have a series.