They’ve consistently outperformed expectations thanks to brilliant coaching from Erik Spoelstra and what some like to call “Heat culture.” The Heat have been impossible to stave off all postseason. Adebayo has gone over his points line in every Finals game, but at 20.5 the value isn’t as strong as it was in Games 1-3. He lives in the midrange - an area the Nuggets will happily leave open if it means running Miami’s shooters off the 3-point line. However, he’s averaging just 6.5 attempts per game since the Eastern Conference Finals, according to NBA.com.Īdebayo also cleared his points line in Game 3. In Rounds 1 and 2, Butler averaged 10.1 free throw attempts per game. This decrease in efficiency is tied to his ability to get to the line. Miami lost two of the three games he went over, largely because his efficiency has drastically decreased since Round 1 (59.7% field goal percentage). I think we could see him defer to more of a playmaking role on Friday and I’m eyeing under 26.5 points - a number he hasn’t reached in five of the past eight games. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined for 40 points in Game 3, but it took 45 field goal attempts to get there in a losing effort.īutler was more aggressive and finished with 28, sailing over his points line (25.5) thanks to 10 in the first quarter and 18 in the first half. He has struggled on both sides of the ball and has seen his playing time diminish, but he’s still getting rebounds. could also capitalize on the attention given to Murray and Jokic. However, the player with the third-highest usage in Game 3 was Aaron Gordon - someone who could continue to benefit from a lack of defensive attention. This took away from the Nuggets role players, who had lackluster statistical outputs thanks to Jokic and Murray having usage rates of 28.9% and 35.4%, respectively. Most notably, the Nuggets ran more empty-side pick-and-roll, which took away Miami’s help defense - a Heat strength throughout the postseason. While most of the credit can be given to the players themselves, head coach Michael Malone made some key adjustments that helped the Nuggets maximize Jokic and Murray. Their mastery of the two-man game, which has made the Nuggets so effective this season, was on full display. “Every team talks about it, but we have to start living it.The dominance of Jokic and Murray was an important takeaway from Game 3. “We’re setting high goals for ourselves,” Malone said. Towns paced the Wolves with 32 points and 14 rebounds, while Wiggins added 25 points. The Nuggets also received 19 points from Danilo Gallinari and 18 from Jusuf Nurkic. Instead, the Nuggets danced out with a much-needed victory on a road trip that’s about to pick up steam quickly. Bjelica missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime. Though the Wolves closed the lead to two, they never took the lead back. Nemanja Bjelica caught fire, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the fourth, which was the heavy lifting the Timberwolves needed to get back into the game. We got stops.”īut because these Nuggets are consistent in playing tight fourth quarters, another Wolves player did step up. “The second half we just had to lock down and play defense if we wanted to win the game,” said Wilson Chandler, who also scored a season-high 19 points. Jim Mone, The Associated PressDenver Nuggets’ Danilo Gallinari, right, of Italy, stands in the way of Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kris Dunn in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Nov. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |