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Adjustments the Miami Heat can make for Game 2: How Jimmy Butler, Kevin Love and zone defense can help them in the Finals

Miami Heat lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals 104-93 to Denver Nuggetsin a match that the rivals dominated them practically from beginning to end.

but there was a handful of things Miami was successful atespecially in the last quarter in which they beat the Nuggets 30-20.

This is what Miami Heat can improve to have a better chance in Game 2 the next Sunday.

Game 2 adjustments: How can the Miami Heat bounce back in the NBA Finals?

Give Kevin Love minutes

Kevin Love went from starting 14 straight games to not being part of Erik Spoelstra’s rotation after Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. His ERA had started to wane, and Caleb Martin was playing so well that he had earned the starting job over Love.

Martin fell again in Game 1 of the Finals, scoring just three points on seven shots. Max Strus was also ineffective, missing all 10 shots from him. Maybe that opens the door for Love to play again.

Love is too young to keep an eye on Nikola Jokic, but he couldn’t do worse than Cody Zeller, who got hurt a lot. And they need Love’s size against Aaron Gordon, who scored 10 of the Nuggets’ first 20 points on plays near the rim over smaller defenders.

Love has shot well throughout these Playoffs, hitting 37% of his three-pointers. He’s also one of the best starting passers of his generation, and in Game 2 the Miami Heat need more than the measly four points he generated on quick attacks.

Love has been a substitute due to their defensive limitations and poor matchups, but they need their offense and size. The Heat’s best chance in this series is to try to increase their shooting and scoring to keep up with the Nuggets.

Jimmy Butler needs to carry Miami Heat forward

Miami got to this stage despite being an underdog because Jimmy Butler carried the team through every round of the playoffs. But this takes a couple of encounters without happening.

Butler didn’t play badly, scoring 13 points in Game 1 with seven assists and seven rebounds. But there were three Miami players who worked better, like Bam Adebayo, Gabe Vincent and Haywood Highsmith. That can’t happen.

More | The disappearance of Jimmy Butler in the first game of the 2023 NBA Finals: The Aaron Gordon effect

Butler already knows how to lead this Miami team to victory. He already gave them two games against a much better Los Angeles Lakers team in the 2020 Finals, scoring 40 and 35 points in Games 3 and 5.

Jimmy was mostly dedicated to helping his teammates throughout the night, but Miami needs him to be more aggressive. He admitted as much after the match, saying: “We have to attack the rim a lot more, myself included.”

He had no free throw attempts for only the second time all season. Gordon has big size to make life difficult defending him, but when Butler receives against Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s defense or other smaller defenders on trades, he has to look to get to the rim as a priority.

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Use the area more

Miami only used its zone defense on 19 possessions, allowing 23 points. That’s a decent 1.16 points per possession, but it’s worse than the 1.12 the Nuggets averaged in the game. With a little adjustment, that area can be more effective.

The Nuggets had some trouble figuring out the zone early in the fourth quarter, when the Heat also mixed up some man-on-man coverage. As the Nuggets got used to the zone, they began to tear it apart (they were the best team against the zone during the Regular Season).

For the Heat to get the zone to work, it has to remain a change-of-pace defense that they bring in for a possession here and there. When the Nuggets expect it and are ready for it, it’s not as effective.

More | There is no formula to stop Jokic: the Serb played with the Miami Heat defense at the start of the NBA Finals

Making Nikola Jokic uncomfortable on defense

Teams that have beaten the Denver Nuggets in previous years have done so by having Jokic move all over the court to defend. That did not happen in Game 1.

The Nuggets were able to use him on a conservative defense for much of the game, in part because of how poorly the Heat were shooting 3-pointers.

Kyle Lowry forced the Nuggets to switch up their coverage in the fourth quarter by hitting a flurry of 3-pointers, which was a great sign for Miami. Jokic began to have to move higher, opening up avenues for Adebayo to operate with short drops to the rim.

That’s where Bam performs best. Miami has to find a way for him to get there. Having a little more luck on his 3-point shooting would be a start.

If Miami can’t tire Jokic out and turn him into a defensive pressure point, they won’t have much of a chance in this series.

The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.

2023-06-02 22:29:36
#Adjustments #Miami #Heat #Game #Jimmy #Butler #Kevin #Love #zone #defense #Finals

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