One game of the NBA Finals is already behind. The Denver Nuggets took advantage of playing at their own stadium to defeat the Miami Heat 104-93 in game 1. The next game is set for Sunday in Denver too, but the visiting team must answer.
Miami have been the biggest surprise of the playoffs this season. Despite making the draw as the N°8 seed because they even lost their first play-in game, they exceeded expectations. They took down the N°1 Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, and the N°2 Boston Celtics.
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Watch Miami Heat vs Denver Nuggets online free in the US: TV Channel and Live Streaming for Game 2
Their great results were largely helped by the way they shot. The high effectiveness they had especially shooting for three has been a huge factor for their success. However, that was not the case in game 1.
Butler gets real on Miami’s low shooting percentage in Game 1
The offense must improve a lot to keep up with the Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets because 93 points is not enough to beat them. Their 3-point percentage was especially concerning for the Heat considering they finished with 13/39 for a poor 33.3%. This could spark some changes, although Jimmy Butler won’t modify his mindset.
“I’m still going to throw you the ball. If you miss the next 10, if you’re open on the 11th one I’m still going to throw you the ball. Because you’ll never be the reason why we lose. It’s always a group effort and I want you to take the same shots. Stay aggressive because you have been the reason why we’ve won so many games before. You are gonna be the reason why we win games now. That’s never gonna change. I have a lot of faith in those guys. I’m in their corner. Bam, Spoelstra, and Pat are in their corner. When everybody is in your corner you have one job to do. Shoot the ball”, he said on Saturday’s press conference.
Most of the players had a terrible night in game 1. Butler himself wasn’t at his usual level with just 13 points, but the 3-point shooters were terrible. Except for Gabe Vincent making 5/10 from that range, there were some worrisome displays. Duncan Robinson was inconsistent with just 1/5 and Max Strus was a total disaster ending with no 3-pointers made despite attempting nine times.
