Tyler coming back and winning Finals MVP would be the funniest timeline
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Sports NBA Thread: 2022-2023 Season
- Thread starter Celticpride
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Miami played a solid defensive Game 1. Denver scoring 104 is a defensive achievement in these playoffs. Denver only managed to score 9 transition points, Miami stayed nearly even on the glass and got 11 offensive boards, and Miami turned it over only 8 times. It’s safe to say that Denver earned much of their baskets this game since much of it was a halfcourt pace. Why did Miami still lose by double digits?
- Adebayo scored 26 on 25 shots. On the surface, this is nice, but it’s fool’s gold for Miami because that’s what Denver wants. Adebayo was allowed all the space to score inside the arc, and so he did; but that’s not Miami’s best offense. To expect Adebayo to carry you offensively against the number one offense in history thus far is not a winning formula.
- Butler, the actual number one option, did not bring his aggression tonight. Could be ankle or altitude, but it’s rare for him not to have any free throw attempts. In fact, the entire Miami team lacked aggression and rim pressure as the team only managed 2 free throws from Highsmith. Adebayo, the most “aggressive" player for Miami offensively, couldn’t draw one foul 40 minutes of play.
- When we look at Miami’s role players, Martin, Struss, and Robinson were a combined 2/16 from three. They had plenty open looks, and one might say Denver is lucky they missed open looks, but these guys were the primary players frequently fronting the post against the likes of Gordon and Jokic. When you consider the energy spent in the previous seven game series, enter in Colorado’s altitude, and now use even more of your legs to prevent post entry, it’s harder to stay in rhythm when your legs leave you. Additionally, Denver didn't shoot much better from three themselves percentage wise. This game was decided inside the arc.
- The size advantage was clear from the beginning of the game as Gordon easily got into double figures and Porter Jr. blocked 2 shots and got 13 boards. Miami’s biggest defensive weakness is their defensive field goal percentage inside the arc (57%) which is second worst in the playoffs. Denver punished all size mismatches they could find whether through Gordon or switches. All fronting the post did was give guys like Murray layups and cuts to the basket. Spoelstra didn’t seem to find any real adjustments yet. Zone didn’t seem to phase Denver much outside of Jokic bench minutes, but it did get more stops than man-to-man defense. Jokic punished all double-teams and found all mismatches, and Denver boldly just used their size throughout the game.
- Miami’s biggest adjustments likely will involve more matchup hunting for Butler. They need more rim pressure and north-south aggression toward the basket to try to generate more free throws. Get Jokic moving defensively north and south and see if you can get him or Murray in foul trouble. Continue to use zone selectively. I was shocked Zeller got playing time before Love; perhaps Love is the emergency release valve for Spoelstra, however, I see no other option now to contest with Denver’s size. Love needs more minutes because he at least has more size and post defense than anybody who played in Game 1. Finally, as for Miami’s shooters, I figure less time will be spent fronting if you just get bigger. Perhaps with 2 days of rest instead of 1, their legs will return normally and with a more aggressive Jimmy, they’ll continue to get the same open looks.
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nuggets got it today?
caleb martin is listed as questionable with an illness I think if he doesn't played klove will have to step in for some valuable big man minutes. you can play highsmith some minutes but he can't cover calebs valuable mins. itll be interesting if caleb does end up playing and how serious his illness is.
im going with the nuggets, higher scoring game then last time and for jokic to not have a crazy scoring night.
caleb martin is listed as questionable with an illness I think if he doesn't played klove will have to step in for some valuable big man minutes. you can play highsmith some minutes but he can't cover calebs valuable mins. itll be interesting if caleb does end up playing and how serious his illness is.
im going with the nuggets, higher scoring game then last time and for jokic to not have a crazy scoring night.
Illness is fake and usually used to make starting lineup changes without offering a reason. That reason was Kevin Love.
A lot of Game 2 felt like an extension of the fourth quarter on Game 1.
- Miami made more threes, but the process was slightly different. Vincent/Struss/Robinson were very much more intentional in offball movement using lots of slip-screens into open space. MPJ slacked off on quite a few possessions. KCP did as well and fouled twice on three point shots. Denver didn't seem too prepared for it.
- Additionally, it seems Miami found a nice pressure point in the Denver defense by playing through Adebayo. Being given all that space, he seems comfortable scoring over Jokic with his speed, and when he screens at the perimeter, Jokic's lack of speed in space becomes a weakness. When Lowry, Vincent, and other guards make threes due to Jokic staying in the lane, it puts more pressure on Denver to blitz, and in turn it opens up more options. Adebayo gets the paint to himself, passes for an open three, or a guard shoots off the dribble. They are simply reading whether Jokic is level of the screen or dropping. Vincent especially was very comfortable searching for scoring pockets. This wasn't necessarily an adjustment either; this worked in spots of Game 1.
- The talk is that Jokic being forced to score one-on-one is preferred over him making passes, and that is certainly true in theory. Teammates find less of a rhythm, you take more time off the clock, and Jokic may wear down over the course of the series. A lot of this isn't simply because of one conscious strategy however. When Denver stays in the halfcourt, play Love at power forward and then Jimmy on Murray, you no longer have mismatches. Without Miami having live ball turnovers or mismatches, man-to-man defense with sprinkles of zone will grind Denver's offense to a halt slowly but surely. How long can Miami continue to do this is the question, and this combination is at least currently working.
So, Miami has a pressure point and defensive schemes that are somewhat effective. Game 3 is pivotal as always during a 1-1 split. Malone's adjustment has to address the coverage and defense of their guards around Adebayo during dribble handoffs. Get them fighting over more screens and staying more connected to keep pressure off of Jokic moving in space.
On the offensive end, they gotta get out of the halfcourt and up the pace. Find a way to create more mismatches. Improved defense and getting stops are certainly how they normally play faster, but perhaps find something to do with Love to test his speed or try to get him switched off Gordon. Get Murray switched off of Butler. Let Jokic try to draw fouls on Bam if they play him single-coverage. Whatever it takes to score on this bigger Heat lineup. Either way the halfcourt offense has to improve, because that's where Miami has had them stuck in the majority of the past 8 quarters as Miami has played solid the majority of those 8 quarters.
- Miami made more threes, but the process was slightly different. Vincent/Struss/Robinson were very much more intentional in offball movement using lots of slip-screens into open space. MPJ slacked off on quite a few possessions. KCP did as well and fouled twice on three point shots. Denver didn't seem too prepared for it.
- Additionally, it seems Miami found a nice pressure point in the Denver defense by playing through Adebayo. Being given all that space, he seems comfortable scoring over Jokic with his speed, and when he screens at the perimeter, Jokic's lack of speed in space becomes a weakness. When Lowry, Vincent, and other guards make threes due to Jokic staying in the lane, it puts more pressure on Denver to blitz, and in turn it opens up more options. Adebayo gets the paint to himself, passes for an open three, or a guard shoots off the dribble. They are simply reading whether Jokic is level of the screen or dropping. Vincent especially was very comfortable searching for scoring pockets. This wasn't necessarily an adjustment either; this worked in spots of Game 1.
- The talk is that Jokic being forced to score one-on-one is preferred over him making passes, and that is certainly true in theory. Teammates find less of a rhythm, you take more time off the clock, and Jokic may wear down over the course of the series. A lot of this isn't simply because of one conscious strategy however. When Denver stays in the halfcourt, play Love at power forward and then Jimmy on Murray, you no longer have mismatches. Without Miami having live ball turnovers or mismatches, man-to-man defense with sprinkles of zone will grind Denver's offense to a halt slowly but surely. How long can Miami continue to do this is the question, and this combination is at least currently working.
So, Miami has a pressure point and defensive schemes that are somewhat effective. Game 3 is pivotal as always during a 1-1 split. Malone's adjustment has to address the coverage and defense of their guards around Adebayo during dribble handoffs. Get them fighting over more screens and staying more connected to keep pressure off of Jokic moving in space.
On the offensive end, they gotta get out of the halfcourt and up the pace. Find a way to create more mismatches. Improved defense and getting stops are certainly how they normally play faster, but perhaps find something to do with Love to test his speed or try to get him switched off Gordon. Get Murray switched off of Butler. Let Jokic try to draw fouls on Bam if they play him single-coverage. Whatever it takes to score on this bigger Heat lineup. Either way the halfcourt offense has to improve, because that's where Miami has had them stuck in the majority of the past 8 quarters as Miami has played solid the majority of those 8 quarters.
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Depending on how you look at it, it may be for the best. Miami has caught rhythm and gotten this far without him, and share the ball more without him. Herro is a good player but has blackhole offensive tendencies and typically the first defensive liability.
I'm a Knicks fan (and promise it's nothing rivalry wise to Heat fans, only "sports rivalry" I get into is my Mets vs the Phillies a bit *edit*: oh and Islanders vs Rangers being from Long Island lol) but I am rooting for the Nuggets - was a big fan of those Melo-era Nuggets teams (yes before he was traded to us too, just loved Melo as a kid lol) so would love it for em.
That said the Heat deserve a ton of respect and I wouldn't be shocked (or mad - love Jimmy Butler as well) at all if they took it - just coming from a "no horse or bias in the race" side. at worst i'm guilty of liking seeing a team who never won a chip get one lol.
Same happened when the Eagles won the SB years ago cus as a Bills fan that --- all my Pats fan friends swear it's "the rivalry why I enjoyed it" like i wasnt a McNabb/Dawkins stan as a kid who spent a lot of time in Philly, so even tho the Eagles wasn't my team I damn sure was happy for em.
same as I would be for Jokic and the Nuggets.
That said the Heat deserve a ton of respect and I wouldn't be shocked (or mad - love Jimmy Butler as well) at all if they took it - just coming from a "no horse or bias in the race" side. at worst i'm guilty of liking seeing a team who never won a chip get one lol.
Same happened when the Eagles won the SB years ago cus as a Bills fan that --- all my Pats fan friends swear it's "the rivalry why I enjoyed it" like i wasnt a McNabb/Dawkins stan as a kid who spent a lot of time in Philly, so even tho the Eagles wasn't my team I damn sure was happy for em.
same as I would be for Jokic and the Nuggets.
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Game 3 started off very slow, but the pace picked up about halfway through the second quarter.
- Denver doubled down on Murray/Jokic pick and roll early on (both players have 10+ assists at least). Even with Butler/Adebayo covering them, they continued finding ways to score.
- Malone also kept Jokic in at the beginning of the fourth likely due to PTSD from fourth quarters earlier in the series always being won by Miami.
- Miami is making more threes overall than Denver, but we're seeing a type of paint dominance. Paint dominance is less variable than three-point shooting, so that's an advantage we often forget in today's league of skilled shotmakers. Denver grabbed way more defensive boards this time around, and converted in multiple ways. Braun and Gordon were overall great in transition/early offense, and Jokic and Murray solved the zone defense in their own ways. Jokic by standing on the elbow as opposed to the nail to draw more defenders, and Murray/Braun forcing penetration and cutting on the weaker side.
- Denver played a significantly better defensive game. Guards were fighting over screens more, and Braun brought an extra gear in the second half. Better defense means less zone defense to solve, which this game had the least amount of defensive possessions of it from Miami.
Denver's size continues to be an issue, and I'm unsure what adjustments Miami could make outside of improved execution of Murray/Jokic pick and rolls. Size has a tendency to wear shorter teams down the longer a series drags, and Miami's main problem is keeping up with Denver offensively. It would seem they need at least one of Adebayo/Butler to be hot along with the role guys, but Denver has proven they can stay in the game with just Jokic/Murray. Also, Denver has had significantly more rest in comparison to Miami.
Denver has mostly stayed around the same point total through three games, where Miami's is more about their shooting. Miami needs an offensive boost, because the defense through these three games appear to be as good as they can get.
- Denver doubled down on Murray/Jokic pick and roll early on (both players have 10+ assists at least). Even with Butler/Adebayo covering them, they continued finding ways to score.
- Malone also kept Jokic in at the beginning of the fourth likely due to PTSD from fourth quarters earlier in the series always being won by Miami.
- Miami is making more threes overall than Denver, but we're seeing a type of paint dominance. Paint dominance is less variable than three-point shooting, so that's an advantage we often forget in today's league of skilled shotmakers. Denver grabbed way more defensive boards this time around, and converted in multiple ways. Braun and Gordon were overall great in transition/early offense, and Jokic and Murray solved the zone defense in their own ways. Jokic by standing on the elbow as opposed to the nail to draw more defenders, and Murray/Braun forcing penetration and cutting on the weaker side.
- Denver played a significantly better defensive game. Guards were fighting over screens more, and Braun brought an extra gear in the second half. Better defense means less zone defense to solve, which this game had the least amount of defensive possessions of it from Miami.
Denver's size continues to be an issue, and I'm unsure what adjustments Miami could make outside of improved execution of Murray/Jokic pick and rolls. Size has a tendency to wear shorter teams down the longer a series drags, and Miami's main problem is keeping up with Denver offensively. It would seem they need at least one of Adebayo/Butler to be hot along with the role guys, but Denver has proven they can stay in the game with just Jokic/Murray. Also, Denver has had significantly more rest in comparison to Miami.
Denver has mostly stayed around the same point total through three games, where Miami's is more about their shooting. Miami needs an offensive boost, because the defense through these three games appear to be as good as they can get.
Herro suits up and drops a triple-single
They done diddly did it
First of all, congratulations to the Denver Nuggets. Jokic is the best player in the world and it's time to start taking him seriously in all-time discussions. Murray is a bucket, crazy that he's never made an all-star team. I expect that to change soon. Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown, a couple of guys that every championship team needs. DeAndre Jordan exists.
As for my guy Jimmy, I feel really good about the run he was able to go on with this 8-seeded Heat team, despite the fact that he obviously underperformed in the finals. He carried them past the Bucks and still played good in the following 2 rounds. To me, it looked like the ankle was clearly bothering him, but injuries happen. I'm still damn proud.
As for my guy Jimmy, I feel really good about the run he was able to go on with this 8-seeded Heat team, despite the fact that he obviously underperformed in the finals. He carried them past the Bucks and still played good in the following 2 rounds. To me, it looked like the ankle was clearly bothering him, but injuries happen. I'm still damn proud.
I just wish it could've come while they were more productive players. This was like when Jeff Teague won a ring with the Bucks.
I agree DJ was on Teague level of minutes and production but tbh Jeff Green played all 20 games in the playoff and averaged 17 minutes so he was a big part tbh.
I'm so happy for Ish Smith
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