NBA Finals Game 1 Highlights + Analysis 🏀

Nicola Jokic and Jamal Murray, sorry Jimmy, you were not him. It was all about Nicola finding people wide open. A lot of Murray early on, Monica. Yeah, he had an assistant that first quarter to every single one of the starters on the floor. We know that he accounts for a large percentage of points scored or assisted on. Six times in the first quarter, tied for the most in the first quarter of an NBA Finals game and over the last 25 years, Jokic and Murray. Murray with 26 points, Jokic 10 times in the first half, no turnovers. And then when you finally cover Murray, you got Jokic wide open, Alan. Yeah, he just took his time waiting. And Jeff Van Gundy said it best in the first half. Jokic dominated the game and he only took four shots. Yeah, that's incredible. Five shots in the first three quarters. He was incredible in the second half. And then Miami's offense starts to heat up here in the fourth quarter, down by 60. What changed? Yeah, well, it's making threes. That's what changed. They were finally knocking them down. It took them about three quarters to get their legs under them. But once they did, Kyle Lowry knocks a few down here. And you're looking at the score and you think, wait, this was a blowout. But as we know with the Miami Heat, they never go away. And now all of a sudden, corner three, we got a ball game. Part of an 11-0 run, Haywood Highsmith had 18 points. They're within nine, but then too much Jokic getting everybody involved. Yeah, and I think this is the difference between the series we just saw Miami in versus this Nugget squad. They are just as comfortable in late game, should they get tight. Jokic, 27, 14 and 10, another triple-double. The winners talk. They fight, they never quit. And we just wanted to get the first punch, you know, to hold that team to 93 points. I think it's a really good job. I definitely think they came out with a lot of physicality and we have to be able to match that. They did their job on their home floor. We'll adjust, do some things very differently and come out here and be ready to get one for game two. Well, Murray at 26, Jokic and Murray just the third pair of teammates to each have at least 20 and 10 dimes in a finals game. Joining Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen and Showtime. That is Magic and James Worthy. Jokic and Murray combining the score assist on 87 of the Nuggets, 104 points in game one. Back here with Allen and Monica and Wendy is standing by. Okay, there have been 12 triple-doubles this postseason. Nine of them coming from Jokic. Let's not talk about really the shooting. Let's not talk about the rebounding. When you watch him pass, especially in that first half, who does he remind you of? Patrick Mahomes. Yeah, I mean, that's where I'm going with this. No, I'm going Patrick Mahomes. No, we can do Magic Johnson. We can do John Stockton. We can do Bob Cousy. We can do, we can do Arvita Sabonis. I'm going Patrick Mahomes. I want his QBR. What is it ESPN Stats and Info? Because last night it might have been a record in the NFL and I also want to hear from some of these quarterbacks in the NFL that we know are watching the NBA Finals and I want to hear what they think about the way he passes because he, oh, I've heard this from all the NFL experts we have in the show. He throws you open. That's what he does. Watch the passes that he makes. They're never ones that you have to fumble. They hit you in the hands and right and makes it easy for you to score. He makes the game easy for you. But on top of that, the Mahomes comparison. Number one, they both own Denver. Number two, they also are guys. I had to throw that in. Number two, they're also guys that they have the clairvoyance when they play a game. They understand the game. They are thinking it faster while looking like they're slower. They're playing faster than you while playing slow or at their own speed. That's the best comp. I'm watching that game and I'm trying to think of things that I don't think I've heard said before because we've said so much about Jokic and his ability and all I kept thinking of Patrick Mahomes. Well, all I did was come up with a cool new nickname for him. Okay. And I'm calling him Optimus Dime. Oh, I like that. Oh, I really like that. That's good. Especially with the transformer. How did you just want him coming out? Literally. I see you. You know what I'm saying? Listen, I think you got to be careful not to call his pace slow. It is deliberate, right? Because I think slow obviously has a little bit of a negative connotation and while he's not going to wow you with his athleticism, the best players in the game have control of the pace at which everybody plays and this guy draws nine sets of eyes, five in terms of defenders and whatever you decide to do defensively, he has a counter, he has an answer, he's never rushed and that is something truly to marvel at. So I do like the idea of a QBR. I think last night, and we talked about it going into this game, you want to see what Denver is going to look like now that they finally arrived at this stage and baby, they came in looking real good. The fit was excellent, the confidence showed through. I thought Aaron Gordon was terrific in terms of making a statement. Oh, y'all going to give me the paint? Y'all going to let me seal deep in this paint? Well, I'm going to take advantage of it in the first quarter. Let's look at some of the numbers again behind the passing, right? That again, ESPN stats and information didn't get me a QBR, but they do have this. Teammates 14 and 19 off his passes. 14 of 19, you know, 3 of 7 from downtown, 11 of 14 on open looks, which is going to be a topic that Miami's going to be talking about. Six different players making a field goal on his assist. So he shares the wealth. He finds all his receivers. He scored or assisted on 58 points in this game. He controlled the game. Okay, listen, stats and information, they just chimed in and I'm weighing in, his QBR was 100. There it is. That good. There it is. Yeah, because there's no question he was flawless. There it is. Denver Nuggets roll out as soon as he comes on the floor with Optimus Dime. Wendy, you were there for game one. What adjustment did the Heat defense make though? Because in the fourth quarter, suddenly it's inside double digits and you're thinking, uh-oh, do we have that Heat run? What do you expect to see more of in game two for Miami? Would you believe that the Heat's game plan was to keep Jokic from passing to his teammates as much? It did not work, except in the fourth quarter. So obviously he was able to be a distributor. That's the worst case scenario for any opponent, especially Miami. He only had five shots going into the fourth. They were obviously winning very big. In the fourth quarter though, he only had two assists and he took seven shots. That is the type of defensive game plan that Heat were trying to get to. They were trying to force him to hold on to the ball. There was even one possession late in the fourth quarter where he was standing literally about six feet from the basket where nobody was around him. And he kind of looked all four sides and said, you know what? I'm just going to shoot it. That's what the Heat wanted to do. Their game plan coming in was to sort of allow him to operate with the ball to try to cut off those passing lanes and the sheer size difference. Guys, I know that it's not a surprise to the Heat how big the Nuggets are, but it's one thing to prepare for. It's one thing to look at the roster. It's another thing when you actually go out there and deal with it. They couldn't handle those size mismatches. And so even with the game plan to cut off his passing, his teammates were able to use their size to get open. And so that's what I think the big game plan adjustment from the Heat will be going into game two, potentially a lineup change and potentially playing more like they did in the fourth quarter, which they did win by 10 points. What was the difference for the Nuggets in really containing Miami? You know, they just really used their length on Jimmy Butler. In the last round against the Celtics, Butler struggled, but heads up with Robert Williams and Jason Tatum. He didn't challenge their length that much. The Nuggets saw that. They made sure that they had those long defenders on him. You would have potentially thought that Contavious Caldwell Pope would have been their choice, but they went with longer defenders like Aaron Gordon and Jimmy Butler didn't challenge them, didn't go look for contact at the rim. He basically became a passer. And that's how you wind up with two free throws in 48 minutes, which is a shocking number. And I'm going to be honest with you. Maybe there was a call here or there. I didn't think it was a controversial game. I didn't think two free throws is controversial. Jimmy Butler did not force the action. He did not look at the guy who is bigger than him and say, let me figure out a way to get to the foul line. That is something that they are going to have to have. We know Jimmy Butler can do it, but since he's turned that ankle all the way back in that series with the Knicks, he is not consistently shown the same physicality. The Nuggets knew that and was in their game plan. Okay, those two free throws, the fewest in NBA playoffs history and it didn't feel like you're watching the game saying, oh, they're missing that. They're missing that here. Monica and Aaron Gordon played a huge role in this game because Caleb Martin, the hero, I mean, Boston fans turn away the hero, of course, in the previous series, one of seven and just three points. What did you see from the Nuggets defense? Well, honestly, in that first half, I wasn't blown away by the Nuggets defense. I thought that the heat missed a lot of open looks. And so you think to the seven games that they had to go through with the Celtics, you think to, okay, maybe the altitude is affecting them a little bit, but I guess in the second half in terms of the Nuggets defense, I think they do a good job of staying connected. And because of their length, they're able to close up gaps that I think people might take for granted. I don't think it is as simple as Jimmy not thinking he can get by the guy that's his primary defender, but he's looking at how well they're shifting and how much length is on the back end. And so that to me is a large strength of the Nuggets. They are not, Aaron Gordon is really good, is a really good defender, KCP style of Bruce Brown, like, but they're not like, you don't fear them because of their defense. As a unit, right? And so I think them staying connected and understanding their game plan, shading, crowding, using their length, that was overall really effective. They made him, they made Jimmy Butler a jump shooter first and foremost. We saw in those highlights there while Wendy was talking, that was the thing that really struck me as we saw so much of him just pulling up for jumpers. That's game five against the Celtics where he really was not effective. He only had 10 drives in that game and that was a playoff low. He only had eight drives in this game and that's now his new playoff low. And is it aggressiveness or is it him just understanding like there's nowhere for me to go? One thing you'll say about Jimmy Butler, he'll never force it. Like he's not going to just put his head down and just drive in and hope something good happens. He doesn't drive without a plan and if it's not there, he won't take it. He'll try to do something else. Absolutely. The length affected him. That's something you learned in the Celtics series, but on top of it. Okay. I'm not the open man. The defense is focused on me. Bam out of Bayou eight because he went one-on-one and then now it's your supporting cast guys that are supposed to soften up the defense by knocking down those open threes. They did not do that in this game. And now is that just one game or is that what this series is going to look like? Game two will tell. You know, Wendy one quick thought here because Eric Spolstra has got to feel really good of Bam out of Bayou 26 and 13 and five dimes. What do you expect to see different on in game two? Yeah, the Heat were undefeated in the playoffs. They were 6-0 and Bam out of Bayou scored over 20 points. So if you had told Eric Spolstra before the game that the Nuggets were only going to score a hundred and four, I know it didn't feel like this because the Heat game plan was compromised. I think that he were okay with the overall output of their defense. If you'd have told him a hundred and four points and Bam out of Bayou got 26. I think he would have thought he would have had a win a seven straight game one victory. But the thing what it was is it took out of Bayou 25 shots to get there at the most he's ever taken in a playoff game. And so what you end up with there is at a Bayou being the hub of their offense in the centerpiece not the compliment off Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler has got to be a more of a weapon with at a Bayou being the one to not the lead. What stood out here from this performance specifically from Jokic in that first half of the Nuggets. First off. I want to congratulate you on Nick Nurse and your team. I just wanted to say that for the record. Congratulations. Appreciate that's on the right. This is the high point of the Sixers season already. That's it. All right. So I'm not saying this skill wise or IQ wise because Miami is elite but nobody can tell me that last night when you're watching these teams on the floor. It didn't give you that vibe of a JV team versus a varsity team's body physicality wise. I mean think when you're seeing them on ball screens and you're seeing Gabe Vincent who is six to switch on the likes of Aaron Gordon and they're making it a priority to punish you down low. There's a reason why I was 20 to 6 in the first quarter, right? The reason why they have in paint points in the paint 40 points overall. So look at just all the pieces that Denver has it makes it challenging for them to guard because you want to drop coverage Jamal Murray can take it over. You want to switch they're going to throw the ball to Jokic on the back end on the block. You want to switch off ball screens off action off the ball. They're going to try to punish you and find ways to get you the ball down low. That's how Denver is built. That's just one game. Do you feel like the series is over? If you feel that it's a varsity JV level kind of I'm saying what I'm saying. Don't take it out of context. Take it out of context. Physicality wise some clarity. Yes. What do you think Miami Miami can still be in this by knocking down three-point shots? All I'm going to say though, is that they have to shoot the ball prolifically from the three-point line because I don't feel like their defense is going to be able to stop the offense of Denver. I feel like their offense is going to have to stop the offense of them. That's why game two so important. You said that yesterday. Allen what what has to change in game two in your mind make open shots, which is what the heat have done throughout this entire playoffs. I mean against the Celtics. They shot forty-eight percent on open threes and in this game yesterday, the open three wide open three six feet or more is like five to 17 or something like that. Like it was, you know, that's that's uncharacteristic to see Max Struess miss the way he missed that's not typical of him and Caleb Martin. You had guys that you were used to seeing make shots that if you were a Celtics fan, you're going really now you're missing those shots game seven. You couldn't miss those shots. That's a reaction that any other fan would have had because you're looking at guys that you weren't expecting to make but all throughout the playoffs. They have game one. They didn't I don't expect that to continue in game two. They hit those shots. This will be a close game. Hemi buckets. Okay, when you watch Jokic, he plays deliberate style basketball as well as Jimmy Butler. That's at least his style. How about what he did yesterday? Just 13 points held the 14 shots. What did you see? What has to change from him? He's got to look to be more aggressive, but he's not a guy that's going to force it and the length of not just the primary defender on Jimmy, but the length overall on the back line for the Nuggets is a problem. He's closing up gaps. It's taking away driving lanes. I do think that they're to me part of the formula that I would look to see if the heat employ is to look to score a little bit more earlier in the shot clock. Maybe not full-on transition, but definitely early in the shot clock before that Nuggets defense can load up and start communicating and pointing and understanding where Jimmy is. What made BAM? So good last night was when he scored. It was quick two dribbles or less. Usually maybe three on a on an off off and on a off attempt. Same thing sort of has to apply in totality. And yeah, simply put those threes have to go down. But also Monaco though. I think what a big when the threes aren't going down. One of the things that really blew my mind is that no starter last night attempt at one free throw. That's insane, right? There was only the ladies are not attacking the lanes, right? But still like either ball fakes getting people up in there. I mean two free-throw attempts as a team. Here's the thing about that because Jimmy's ball fake is patented, right? But like twice I can think of off the top of my head. You got the length. Caleb Martin got inside on Michael Porter jr. And the length is able to help him recover. He comes up with the block Aaron Gordon coming back on the play when Duncan Robinson thought he had a clean three length back into the play in terms of the block. And so pump fakes work when you got a guy that needs to jump. But when you got a guy that could just stand anyway, then what? Yeah, we have Brian Windhorst as well jumping in here or Wendy when you look at specifically the game plan for the heat something changed in the fourth quarter when they were addressing Jokic. What did you see? Yeah, they just really sold out on defending the other players. They basically spread out away from Jokic and you know gave him space to shoot and cut off those passes and that's why Jokic took five shots in the first three quarters and seven shots in the fourth. And that's why they the Nuggets only scored 20 points in the fourth quarter because they were just weren't as effective playing that way. In fact, the whole second half it was a more effective approach Jokic only had four assists in the second half look for the heat to try to keep doing that. But I also think that Miami is going to have to re-examine its lineup because in this last round against Boston the Celtics went small and the heat, you know matched up with them. They went with Caleb Martin as they're starting for and Caleb Martin was awesome. So how do you even think about changing that? Well as soon as the starting lineups were put in yesterday and the Nuggets saw that the heat were going to stay small. They're small in general because Bam Adebayo was not big compared to Jokic. As soon as they saw that the Nuggets flicked the switch went to the big boy lineup and went to the big boy, you know strategy and so I'm not sure that they're going to be able to survive. I know that Durant, I'm sorry that Kevin Love isn't perfect in that spot, but they may have to consider going back to him just for the size aspect. When you talk about size too, we got a big man in that first half that had 10 assists and no turnovers and you're the point guard here on the set. We'll get to your analogy in a second because I love it. Is Jokic the best passer in the NBA right now? I mean, he reminds me of Arvidius Sabonis, but I think Arvidius Sabonis was great more athletic, but you know, when we get into the athletic ability like the hand-eye coordination and the footwork is part of athleticism to me, right? And I think that is elite of elite in the league and the thing that makes this team so special. It's it's similar to Steph Curry and Draymond Green. And what I mean by that is you had two people that could initiate the offense, right? And what you have here with these two Jamal Murray can initiate the offense. You saw Aaron Gordon initiating offense and Jokic is actually he opens up the floor for the offense to exist. So to Brian's point about them going to zone and you'll see a higher doses of that. Yes. I think it's slow the Nuggets down, but I also think that Michael Malone will have a counter to that because you have the best passer in the game of basketball with LeBron James who is drawing up plays on the sideline, by the way, right? Like what sensor do you see drawing up plays on the sideline who's going to catch the ball in the middle of zone to see the floor still thinking sweet. Yes, I'm holding to it.