Unlike the 3 earlier series leading to the Finals, the Miami Heat have dropped the first game of their best-of-7-game clash against the Denver Nuggets. With Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combining for only 39 points, the dynamic duo of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic were able to take the win, recording 53/16/24 together. During this game, the home team headed into half-time with a 17-point lead. And apparently, that was beyond enough for Skip Bayless to come out with quite the hot take about the outlook for the 2023 NBA Finals.
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Throughout their postseason run, the undrafted members of the Heat had phenomenal performances. Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Caleb Martin, and Duncan Robinson averaged a combined 46.8 PPG. However, the four guards shot miserably and only lodged a combined 25 points tonight (with Vincent recording 19 points).
Even though Erik Spoelstra’s boys’ Game 1 loss seemed inevitable by the third quarter, Bayless went on to make a wild prediction for the entire series.
Skip Bayless claims Jimmy Butler and co. will be swept
To be fair to him, the UNDISPUTED analyst has been backing the Miami Heat all postseason long. However, even before his favored team suffered their Game 1 loss, the 71-year-old went on to state his predictions for the outcome of the series.
Implying that the Nuggets could end up sweeping the Heat, Skip tweeted:
Prediction: On tomorrow’s Undisputed, I will hear the word “sweep.”
Bayless didn’t stop there. With the Heat trailing by as much as 24 points at one point in the bout, Skip estimated that Joker and Co. would eventually win by as much as 40 points. The final score was, fortunately, a lot closer at 93-104.
Skip had some further major criticism, calling the loss Miami’s “worst game” all playoff long.
Can the Miami Heat prove Skip Bayless wrong?
Apart from Gabe Vincent’s serviceable performance, the Miami Heat had no real positive takeaways from the game.
Butler, who has been averaging 28.5 PPG this postseason, only had a 13-point outing. Not attacking the rim, the Heat only attempted an all-time low of 2 free throws. Finally, the #8-seeded team was horrendous with their shooting from the 3-point line as compared to their display all playoff long.
To be fair, none of these points are as concerning. Prior to Game 2, the group needs to recollect and go over several film sessions to figure out a better way to stop the Jokic-Murray duo. But more than anything else, they also need to get some much-needed rest after their 7-game Eastern Conference Finals series.
Knowing the resilience that this Miami team possesses, they’ll definitely be a much-improved squad on Thursday.
