3 reasons for Miami to believe in the NBA title

Game 3 of the NBA Finals was overwhelming on the side of the denver nuggets. The historical performance of Nikola Jokic, with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists, made the Serb the first in history to score a 30-20-10 in a series of finals. Yet, Jamal Murray he also scored a triple-double, which hindered any chance of reaction from Miami, playing at home. But nothing is lost yet. That’s because, in the next match, the Heat will also play at home.

In addition to court command, there are still other factors that can help the Miami Heat regain momentum in the series and, in fact, take the championship trophy home, even with a roster as bodied as the Denver Nuggets. Putting the spirit of “underdog”, or discredited, at the tip of pitches, the east coast team seeks to overcome all expectations and resume the reins after winning a difficult conference final against Boston Celticsin game 7.

Jimmy Butler

Far from the performance expected of Jimmy Butler, the Miami Heat star started the series of the NBA Finals very low. With memorable performances in the first three games of the Conference Finals against the Celtics, much is expected of Miami’s top star. In the first game against the Denver Nuggets, he was ruled out and managed to score just 13 points. Average that rose in the next two games, where he went from 20. In game 3, there were 28 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. High score, but a low average on the other items, still. Until then, being Bam Adebayo who has been carrying a better average.

However, the hope of Miami Heat fans is that the already known “Playoff Jimmy” will show his face from Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The player who can easily break through difficult defenses, make the team play more fluidly and, why not, score 50 more points in a game, as he has done before? It’s a potential Butler can reach, even against a tall Nuggets defense.

Defense is a factor

The Miami Heat’s defense played effectively and calmly in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Even though he allowed 108 points, he put pressure on Nikola Jokic with Bam Adebayo for almost the entire game and even managed to perform a rotation on top of the team’s main player. Leaving Jamal Murray’s life, too, more complicated.

They pressed the entrance to the key and practically nullified Aaron Gordon. Still, they made a good transition to keep scoring. In Game 3, the pace dropped, with Jokic and Murray combining for 60 points. The hope of Spoelstra and the fans of the Miami Heat is that the pace rises again and the defensive sector is, once again, a factor that plays in favor of the east coast team. And that, if you play more times like in game 2, you can better control your destiny in the series.

Bam Adebayo

The 25-year-old center has been the Miami Heat’s main player in the NBA Finals. Not only has he been maintaining more than 20 points per game in these first three games, but he’s also securing a lot of rebounds and helping a lot, as he can, with the marking.

The hope of the Miami Heat fan is that Bam Adebayo will continue in this same consistency throughout the series of the NBA Finals. Because, if they keep up the performance and the Heat have good performances from Jimmy Butler, Duncan Robinson and even Caleb Martin, the team’s offensive strength could weigh against the Denver Nuggets’ still disorganized defense.

You can follow Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets this Friday (9), at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), on ESPN and Star+.