Your guide to Game 2 of the NBA Finals

Here are 3 things to look out for in tonight's match-up

With the Nuggets taking a seemingly easy 1-0 lead in this series, many are predicting Denver will win the NBA championship in just 4 or 5 games, so what can the Heat do to steal a win on the road and tie the series? What can Denver do to take a 2-0 advantage before Games 3 & 4 in Miami?

Have Miami found yet another hidden gem?

Despite the Nuggets leading by 24 points late in the 3rd quarter, the final score was only an 11 point win for Denver, and this was largely in part due to the Miami Heat figuring things out in the final period of play. In the 4th quarter, Miami scored 30 points on 60% shooting (going 6-12 from behind the three point line as well). Just when you thought the Heat couldn’t possibly bring out yet another undrafted player that can contribute in the playoffs, almost half of Miami’s points in the 4th quarter were scored by Haywood Highsmith.

The Heat began the quarter with a full-court press, which led to Highsmith get a steal and an easy basket. Later in the quarter, Miami went to their zone defence which forced a miss and Highsmith scored in transition. His next basket came off a beautiful feed from Bam Adebayo. Bam scored 26 points on 25 shots, something Denver will be very happy about, so looking to make plays for cutters off the ball should be an emphasis point for him going into Game 2. His final two baskets were assisted by Jimmy Butler who was in the paint and passed to Highsmith who was waiting on the three point line. Jimmy getting two feet into the paint and making plays will also be an emphasis for Miami. The more aggressive Jimmy can be, the better basketball Miami can play. In Game 1, he was passive against Denver’s drop coverage, in Game 2 he needs to attack the paint as explained in yesterday’s video.

Defence is, as always, the key

Miami were able to win the 4th quarter because the Nuggets couldn’t stop them when the Heat were trying to score: because Denver couldn’t get any stops, they were inbounding the ball after made baskets by Miami, meaning the Heat had time to go back down on defence and get their zone set up. Denver found success early in the game by attacking cross-matches in transition. As you see in the video, Denver forcing misses then pushing the ball down the court to find players like Aaron Gordon who were being guarded by smaller guys, helped them get out to an early lead.

An under-spoken-about part of defence is rebounding, in particular stopping the opponent crashing the offensive glass. Miami out-rebounded Denver 11-6 in terms of offensive rebounding, leading to second chance opportunities. Watch Mike Malone make this a key point of emphasis for his squad in Game 2.

Shooters Shoot

The Miami Heat went 5-16 on wide open threes, something that definitely shouldn’t happen again. Caleb Martin going 1-7 from the field, Duncan Robinson going 1-6 and Max Strus going 0-10 definitely can’t happen again if the Heat want any chance in this series. Miami’s threes should start falling at the rate they did during their run through the Eastern Conference. Their process was somewhat good, it’s just the execution that was lacking. Maybe some of the factors discussed in yesterday’s article could have been at play. I, for one, would be shocked if we see a repeat of this in Game 2.

Despite taking the win, the Nuggets also need to lock in behind the arc. They shot 29.6% from three and in particular, Michael Porter Jr shot an uncharacteristic 2-11 from downtown. So as much as Miami’s shooters need to bounce back, that could be cancelled out if MPJ can find his shooting stroke again.

Prediction?

The Nuggets are undefeated at home during this playoff run, and I don’t see that changing tonight unless we see a 40+ point effort from Jimmy Butler. More to the point, the Nuggets have only lost 3 game so far on their run to the finals. One was an overtime loss in Minnesota, the other two were in Phoenix where Devin Booker & Kevin Durant put on generational scoring performances. So even if Jimmy has 40, the other starters would all need to score in double-digits to steal a win on the road. All I know is that if you aren’t listening to The Hoop Genius Podcast after every game, you’re missing out on the best NBA content in the game.

Thank you so much to everyone who has subscribed to this newsletter, it’s completely free, but if you want to support what i do, use this link for an offer which lets you support for just £1 per month. Peace.