The Miami Heat weren’t able to keep up with the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. With Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray leading with a combined 53/16/24 performance, Jimmy Butler and co. suffered a 104-93 loss. With Erik Spoelstra’s boys losing their first Game 1 of the 2023 playoff, fans are getting worried. Some analysts are even predicting the Colorado-based franchise to win the series 4-0. However, Shaquille O’Neal still has faith in the Heat.
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With people continuously raving about the Western Conference Champ’s 11-point victory, Shaq recently shared an interesting stat, that @3MED__ dug up, which will bring some hope to Miami supporters.
During all 3 of their championship runs (2006, 2012, and 2013), the Heat had lost Game 1.
Shaquille O’Neal shares stat to motivate Jimmy Butler and co.
The Big Aristotle is pretty active on social media. Over the past few months, he has been resharing several graphics on his Instagram story. Following Game 1 of the final series, the Diesel shared the stat in hopes to reignite the spark among the Florida-based franchise.
Back in 2006, Shaq and co. lost the first game to the Mavericks and would go on to win the franchise’s first title in Game 6. Similarly in 2012, LeBron James’ team lost Game 1 but went on to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in 4 straight games. Finally, the very next season, Tim Duncan and the Spurs grabbed the first win, but Erik Spoelstra’s boys ended up lifting the 2013 championship.
By overcoming the Denver Nuggets, there is an opportunity for Jimmy Buckets to be added to this elite group of Miami legends. However, the 6-foot-7 forward will have to put up a much better performance than his 13/7/7 outing in order to upset Mike Malone’s boys.
NBA Twitter reacts to the Miami Heat’s absurd stat
As soon as this stat went viral on social media, NBA Twitter blew up with reactions.
Many users didn’t believe this year’s Heat squad is as talented as the previous rosters that managed to win the championship.
Other users stated how Heat fans were merely exaggerating and no one was actually counting them out.
As for the Denver Nuggets, they know for a fact that the Miami Heat is a resilient team. Making the necessary changes, the Heat will definitely be much better than they were on Thursday.
