Well, he should know how his team is wired and what buttons to push. I didn’t think Miami played well in game 2, as much as I thought they didn’t hit a killer dry spell offensively. They jumped out early, then cooled off. Miami did hit shots in game 2, that they missed in game 1, when Denver was cooking. Also, the FT numbers were more balanced. Game 3 is on deck, and is setting up for a dog-fight, more like a game 5.
That’s the encouraging part. Caleb Martin has yet to even score in double digits in this series after averaging 20 ppg vs Boston, apparently he was battling the effects of the high altitude so maybe he plays better in Miami. And Jimmy Butler hasn’t had a “Playoff Jimmy” game since Game 2 vs Boston so you have to figure that he’s due for a big game soon.
The Heat aren't talented enough to survive Jokic and Murray combining for 70 (and a triple double apiece!), Bam and Jimmy did their thing but they're gonna need production from another person
The Nuggets definitely played close to their A game tonight. Good info on the Wildcats, those Lute Olson teams were always filled with talent.
TWO players with a TRIPLE DOUBLE. You might not see that again. That’s insane. Denver had it going. I still wouldn’t count out the Heat. It’s been that kind of postseason run for the Heat.
I'm pulling for Denver but Miami is tough as nails. I would not be surprised to see this one go the full 7.
Jokic is a walking triple double machine so we’ve come to expect that kind of production from him, you can’t allow those kinds of numbers from Murray. Bam and Jimmy combined for 50 but that’s not gonna be enough. Will be interesting to see how Spolestra counters the punch Denver just gave his team.
I shouldn't have to clean-up threads from insults and politics like I had to do this one. It's usually the same posters too.
I like Miami and I love their Cinderella story in the tenacity that they play with. But they are just over matched.
Two things that stood out for me (besides two guys going off for a triple-double of course) , was Vincent getting into early foul trouble & Miami just getting crushed on the glass. I think Denver was something crazy, like +25 in rebounds. Miami ( & no one else I can think of this year), can win when those numbers are a part of the stat sheet. You can’t always off-set good scoring, but rebounding & assists number is where Miami has to make their bacon. On to the next one.
We already knew coming into the series that Denver was a bigger team who was going to abuse Miami on the glass. Kevin Love has done the best that he can, his best days are behind him tho, it would be great if we had the version of him from 5-6 years ago. Alas, it’s only 2-1 so the series is far from over but Miami better find a way to win Game 4.
Denver had 28 assists on 41 buckets, and 13 offensive rebounds. So even when Miami played good D, Denver's size became a second line of offense. Miami only had 23 defensive rebounds. When Denver moves the ball around like they did and assist on 68% of their buckets, they are the best team in the NBA. Most of their shots last night were lay-ups/dunks, or open 3-pointers. And they shot poorly from outside. Good shots that just didn't fall. And when they did miss, they were often there for the easy put back. Miami has to find a way to rebound better. Agreed that if Kevin Love was playing like he was 5 years ago, that would help. He's doing what he can, but he's not the same player physically he used to be. Denver's size also played a part on the defensive end. Miami got decent shots, but still only shot 37% for the game and 31.4% from three. Miami simply can't afford to miss open shots, and some of the contested shots need to fall for them to have a chance. Neither of that happened last night.
Zeller is lost out there, and should not be getting anymore minutes. If Spo is going to throw a guy out there just because size is needed, Yurtsevan should be the one at this point. He has the height and has softer hands and quicker feet than Zeller. Strus was Bad Strus last night. We cannot win with Bad Strus.
Zeller isn’t the greatest option. But Yurtseven played limited minutes in the regular season due to injury and has only played a few minutes in this postseason. I don’t know how realistic it is to expect any sort of positive contribution from him at this point. Strus has been up and down and so has Martin but that’s what you expect from role players, one game good, the next game bad.
I agree, except to say when you KNOW Zeller is a liability, you have a known component. And knowing this, Spo should do something different, even radically different by experimenting a few minutes (like he did with Highsmith against Tatum). Do you think Yurts would play any worse than Zeller against Jovic?
Size matters and even Bam gets bumped around. Miami just doesn’t have the size to deal with Denver inside. It’s not just Hokers size but all three of them have a size advantage. is hope that the shots fall, is there only hope.
Highsmith earned Spo’s trust during the regular season so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he was called on during the playoffs. Yurtseven was out of the rotation for the entire season, a notoriously stubborn guy like Spo usually isn’t going to switch up his rotation to squeeze a player like that in, but who knows I guess we’ll see.
