“I’ve seen really good defenders before” - Jimmy Butler unfazed by the strong Denver Nuggets defense
The Denver Nuggets' defense limited Jimmy Butler to 13 points, his lowest in the playoffs, on 6-14 shooting and without a single free throw. “Jimmy Buckets” wasn’t his usual self as the Miami Heat suffered a lopsided loss in Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals.
Butler remains unfazed by what he had seen Denver do in the series opener:
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“Yes, they do have some really good defenders but I’ve seen really good defenders before. ... I gotta be more aggressive, put more pressure on the rim. I think that makes everybody’s job a lot easier."
The Nuggets rotated players to guard Jimmy Butler. They started with Aaron Gordon before Kentavious Caldwell-Pope took over. Michael Porter Jr. and Bruce Brown also spent time guarding one of the playoffs’ best players.
Butler scored seven points in the first half, all of them in the first quarter. He was 3-7 from the field, including 1-2 from behind the arc. The All-NBA second-team selectee hunted Porter Jr. a few times in defense but was blocked once and forced to bad shots in others.
The six-time All-Star had already faced two better defenses than the one the Denver Nuggets can offer. The Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics had the system and personnel to make life difficult for him. Butler torched the Bucks and gave the Celtics fits to lead the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals.
Miami only had two days to prepare for the championship round while the Nuggets waited nine days before Game 1 in Denver. The altitude in Mile High City might have also been a factor as several of the Heat’s shots fell short.
Jimmy Butler expects to play better in Game 2 after getting better acclimated to the altitude and after the adjustments, Erik Spoelstra would have installed.
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat couldn’t consistently score against the Denver Nuggets in Game 1
It wasn’t just Jimmy Butler who had trouble scoring against the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Bam Adebayo led them with 26 points but he took 25 shots to get his total. Caleb Martin, who had 26 points in Game 7 against the Celtics, had three fouls on 1-7 shooting.
Max Strus hit all 10 of his shots, including 0-9 from behind the arc. Only Gabe Vincent of the Heat starting unit shot well. The former undrafted rookie was 7-14 and hit 5-10 from deep. Duncan Robinson, who caused the Celtics a ton of trouble, was 1-6.
The Miami Heat were 5-16 (31%) from three-point range on open triples. They were 49% against the Boston Celtics in the conference finals.
Jimmy Butler insisted before Game 2 that he will not stop passing to his teammates. Whether they make or miss, he will give them the ball if they’re open:
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“I need to say to them, ‘I’m still gonna throw you the ball. And if you miss the next 10 [shots] and you’re open on that 11th one, I’m still going to throw you the ball because you’ll never be the reason why we lose. It’s always a group effort and I want you to take the same shots."
According to @SecondSpectrum the Heat shot 31% (5-16) on wide-open 3s in Game 1 (closest defender is 6+ feet away).
Miami shot nearly 49% on these in the Conference Finals vs the Celtics. https://t.co/XrVreMbCG8
Basketball fans can’t wait to see if the Miami Heat will regain their shooting touch in Game 2.
Also read: “We’re still gonna get 4” - Jimmy Butler confident of winning NBA championship