The Miami Heat were completely outplayed by the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. That led to Eric Spoelstra making some key changes in personnel for Game 2. He dared to start Kevin Love ahead of Caleb Martin and it paid off. Miami edged out the Nuggets in Game 2 by a slim margin. However, at his media availability before Game 2, Spoelstra had said that they would need Jimmy Butler to be more aggressive to have a shot at winning. Charles Barkley also reiterated the same thing in his pre-game analysis, and when Spoelstra was asked about it during an interview, the veteran coach suggested that Chuck should take up a coaching gig.
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Having received a $200,000,000 contract from TNT, it is highly unlikely that Barkley would be interested in a coaching job. But the Philadelphia 76ers legend has surely proven through his pre and post-game analyses on TNT, over the years, that he knows his basketball. However, that doesn’t stop the Chuckster from making incorrect predictions all the time.
Eric Spoelstra thinks Charles Barkley should become a coach
Charles Barkley was on-point in recommending what the Miami Heat should do to win Game 2. After Game 1, Barkley didn’t just highlight the expectations for Butler to be more aggressive, but also gave his opinion on how they can use Kevin Love more effectively in the next game.
“I might break out Kevin Love for two reasons. You’ve got six fouls. He can get hot from three-point range. Joker [Nikola Jokic] has got to guard Kevin out to that three-point line. That might open things up for everybody else,” Barkley had said on NBA TV.
Coach Eric Spoelstra, however, laughed out loud when told that Barkley shared his opinion on Butler’s role in Game 2, joking that it’s not rocket science.
“He [Jimmy Butler] is our guy. So, you know, Chuck [Charles Barkley] should probably be a coach. It’s not rocket science, we need Jimmy to be Jimmy,” Spoelstra said.
As for playing Love, he kept it a secret.
The changes coach Spo made and the suggestions Barkley made were actually quite identical and did come to fruition. Jimmy was more aggressive in the game, putting up 21 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds in the 111-108 win. Love made a huge impact in his 22 minutes with 6 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, snatching plenty of crucial boards against Nikola Jokic.
However, Chuck faltered on his prediction on Game 2 after suggesting Miami the right changes.
Chuck guaranteed a Nuggets win in Game 2
In NBA TV’s pre-game presentation, the Chuckster boldly predicted the Nuggets to blow out the Heat. In fact, he said that their win will be bigger than the Game 1 win.
Sure enough, as every other Barkley ‘Guarantee’, or should we say ‘curse’, has turned out this season, it went the Heat’s way as Butler and Co successfully stole one on the road. Butler came in clutch to seal the deal after receiving backlash recently for taking time off basketball.
