Three-point shooting aside, the Miami Heat's defense will play a big role in determining this season’s NBA champion. There is no shortage of offense on Denver's side.
The Nuggets offense runs through two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, and he has absolutely manhandled any defender thrown at him in these playoffs. That includes Rudy Gobert, Deandre Ayton and Anthony Davis – not a defensive slouch in the bunch.
If the Heat have any chance of pulling off the unthinkable, priority number one has to be slowing down Jokic. That starts with Bam Adebayo.
Bam has had an up-and-down postseason thus far, but he has a real opportunity to impact this series. He will be the first line of defense against Jokic and will likely focus most of his game preparation on the
defensive side of the ball. If he can crowd Jokic’s air space to make it more difficult to shoot and find open opponents – similar to how Udonis Haslem defended Dirk Nowitzki in the 2006 Finals – it may be enough to throw Jokic off his game.
Since Bam became a full-time starter in 2019, Jokic averages 20.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 7.8 assists in games against Miami.
Conversely, Jokic has averaged 24.5 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists against all opponents over that span. While it is a small sample size, he has not performed up to his normal standard when playing against Miami.
If Bam is able to limit Jokic’s effectiveness with little or no defensive help, it allows the rest of Miami’s defense to dial in on Jamal Murray drives to the basket and stay home on the other shooters.
And if Bam can maintain his conditioning in the high altitude of Denver, he can have just as big an impact on offense in this series.
As the only true big in Miami’s primary rotation, Jokic will likely line up against Bam defensively on most possessions. Not only can Bam force Jokic to expend energy on defense by constantly being on the move, he also has the speed and athleticism to get around Jokic to find quality shots in and around the paint.
As if this wasn’t enough responsibility on Bam’s plate, he will also have to take the lead in the rebounding department. As Miami’s best rebounder, he’ll have to give whatever he has left in the tank to securing boards to ensure Denver doesn’t get multiple opportunities at making buckets.
If Bam can put up numbers close to 25 & 12 throughout the series, which he is more than capable of, that probably puts Miami in a good position to win.
The Heat will need all hands on deck to win the team’s fourth championship, and likely can’t afford the missing-in-action games from Bam and Jimmy that we saw in the last round.
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