The Heat have been one of the best underdog stories in NBA history but the Nuggets may be their toughest test. Here's what they have to do to steal Game 2.
The Miami Heat have one of if not the greatest underdog playoff run in the history of the NBA. They are the first team ever, in a full 82-game season, to make the finals as the No. 8 seed and the first to make the NBA Finals as a play-in team.
They have a huge task in front of them because they have to play their toughest opponent yet in Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Jokic has been the best player in these playoffs and the Nuggets have been the best team in these playoffs.
The Nuggets have one of the biggest home-court advantages because they play in the Mile High City. The thin air in Denver affects the road team as the opposing players are not used to playing in the altitude. As a result, the Nuggets had a 34-7 home record this season and a perfect 9-0 at home this postseason.
The Heat have to steal a game on the road to win this series and they have some things they can fix from their Game 1 loss to help their chances.
How the Heat can steal Game 2: 3. Attack the paint
If you look at Denver's last two series, and especially in the Lakers series, the one area Denver struggled in the most was paint defense. As good as Nikola Jokic is on offense, he does struggle with being an interior defensive force.
This is exactly why the Heat should keep attacking the paint because the Nuggets don't have a rim protector. Jimmy Butler should be able to get any shot he wants within 10 feet of the rim. He did against the Bucks and Celtics who have great rim protectors but he was a no-show in Game 1.
Also, a big part of the Nuggets' defensive game plan was to let Bam Adebayo take his shots and he went 13-of-25. If Bam is going to be as wide open as he was in the paint as he was in Game 1, he's going to have to keep attacking the rim to see if he could get someone in foul trouble.
One other factor that indicated the Heat did not attack the rim as much as they should have in Game 1 was that they took an all-time playoff history low, two free throws. The Heat have been averaging 20 free throw attempts per game and Jimmy Butler averages nine attempts per game. The lack of free throw attempts shows that the Heat and Jimmy Butler were not aggressive enough in attacking the rim.
How the Heat can steal Game 2: 2. Hit their 3-pointers
The biggest revolution in the history of the NBA has been the 3-point shot. It is almost impossible to win games in the NBA today without making a good number of your 3-pointers. In the regular season, the Miami Heat were ranked 27th in 3-point shooting percentage. In the playoffs, the Heat are ranked first in 3-point shooting percentage at 38.7 percent.
The Heat's miraculous turnaround in shooting the 3 has been one of the biggest reasons they made the finals as a No. 8 seed. But, they cannot afford to turn back into the regular season Miami Heat as the Nuggets have been almost as good in the playoffs.
The Nuggets had their second-worst shooting performance from deep in the playoffs in Game 1, shooting 29.6 percent. Unfortunately for the Heat, they shot 33.3 percent from 3. The Heat shouldn't expect the Nuggets to shoot that poorly for the rest of the series and especially in Game 2.
Caleb Martin, Max Strus, and Duncan Robinson are going to have to knock down their 3s in Game 2, or else the Heat will find themselves in a 2-0 hole going back to Miami.
How the Heat can steal Game 2: 1. Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler has had one of the greatest playoff runs by a player in NBA history. What he and the Heat have done these playoffs is incomprehensible. They couldn't have had their success without Butler's performance in the playoffs — he has been averaging 27.6 points, 7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2 steals on 48/36/81 splits.
Butler has been all-time great in the playoffs and the Heat go as he goes. But in Game 1, Butler did not go. He had 13 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists on 6-of-14 shooting and shockingly, did not take a single free throw. If the Heat want to steal Game 2 or in fact win this series, Butler is going to have to be all-time all the time.
Nikola Jokic is by far the best player in this series and in the playoffs averaging 29.8 points, 13.1 rebounds, 10.8 assists on 54/47/79 splits. Then in Game 1, Jokic kind of added a quiet game where he had 27 points on 12 shots along with 10 rebounds and 14 assists.
In some capacity, Jimmy Butler is going to have to match what Jokic is going to do in the Finals. If Butler plays how he played in Game 1 and if Jokic continues to play how he has played in the playoffs, the Nuggets will sweep the series.
The Heat can not afford another Jimmy Butler no-show in this series and especially in Game 2.
Check out The Step Back for more news, analysis, opinion and unique basketball coverage. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our daily email newsletter, The Whiteboard.
