We all know the Miami Heat play elite defense. We have seen this on display throughout the entire postseason. Including Game 1 of the NBA Finals, they have held opponents to 105 or less points in 11 of the 21 games they’ve played thus far, including the Play-In Tournament. When you consider they played against prolific offenses like the Bucks and Celtics, that’s very impressive. They held the Nuggets to 104 points in Game 1, which was the lowest amount of points they’ve scored throughout the entire playoffs.
The more important question is whether or not the Heat can generate enough offense to win. The Heat have averaged under 111 points per game in the playoffs, while the Nuggets are averaging over 115 points per game in the playoffs. And while we know the Heat will always be tough defensively, it’s hard to imagine the Nuggets not scoring more than 104 points as the series progresses. Simply put, the Heat have to deliver on the offensive side of the ball. The good news is that Jimmy Butler had only 13 points in Game 1, and Caleb Martin and Max Strus combined to go 1-17 in Game 1. There’s plenty of room for improvement. Sharpshooter Tyler Herro may also make his return from a broken hand, which will definitely help on the perimeter. The Heat will need consistent production from Bam Adebayo, who had an impressive 26 points in Game 1. However, there’s no question they need more help from role players. They scored no more than 22 points through the first 3 quarters in Game 1, making the 4th quarter entirely irrelevant.
There’s no question the Heat can deliver enough offense to win. They’ve scored over 1119 points or more 7 times in the postseason! However, their issue is consistency. Four times this postseason they’ve scored under 100, and a couple of times they barely went over 100. That’s not going to cut it against the Nuggets.
At this point, the Heat have proven they can’t be counted out. However, if they want to finish off this improbable run with a win in the NBA Finals, they will need to deliver on offense. Time will tell if they can make the proper adjustments to get those shots to go down throughout the rest of this series.