I don't think Heat fans realize how good the Nuggets have been this postseason. They have only lost 3 games and 2 of the games were because two all NBA players went nuclear and super efficient for 2 games. The Heat don't have two players that can do that. With the way Butler has played for the last 5 games I don't think they even have one player that can do that for 4 out of the next 6 games.
To beat the Nuggets in this series you would probably have take Booker and Durant and drop them on the Heat right now and even then it would still be a great series.
Heat fans have a ton of respect for this nuggets team, but we are used to our guys going out and doing the improbable. Last night we had a bunch of guys go out on the big stage and miss a lot of shots. We had a lot of guys go out on the big stage and take a lot of jumpers and not get to the line. Now, some of that is definitely home cooking but we were also barely at the rim all night.
we are used to jimmy basically being nuclear for a whole month (playoff jimmy), but yeah, this is a different animal for sure. Giannis and Tatum we can handle. Thin tall guys. Joker is like embiid but with a better passing game so if this is going to be a series we have to find something to either score with them or slow them down.
we don’t need booker or Durant. We need struss and Martin to hit their open looks.
thankfully When jimmy had that clear path and got tangled up with whomever he didn’t get injured. That looked like a broken leg waiting to occur so I’ll take that as a win.
the Nice thing about Miami being in all these championships over the years is you get the perspective of which team was the aggressor. Miami was not last night. The aggressor usually wins these games. The good news with these series is the narrative cam change game to game. It may not and it may simply be Denver’s time but the on,y thing I do know about the heat is they ain’t giving up.