As we’ve seen all playoff long, the Denver Nuggets capitalized on their size advantage extremely well in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Apart from grabbing more rebounds and causing problems on the defensive end, Nikola Jokic and co.’s stature was a huge factor on Thursday night. Even Magic Johnson spoke about this “length” advantage of Mike Malone’s boys and also revealed his pick for the “real heroes” of the Nuggets’ 104-93 win.
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The dynamic duo of Jamal Murray and Jokic was sensational. While the guard erupted for a 26-point, 10-assist performance, the Joker did what he’s the best at – a 27/10/14 triple-double. However, despite the pairs’ amazing outing, Earvin went on to snub all of them as the “real heroes” of the first game of this finals series.
“Denver’s length is going to be a major problem for the Miami Heat”: Magic Johnson
As he does pretty often, the former 12-time All-Star voices his opinions on the game via Twitter. Magic mentioned the 3 takeaways a day after the first clash.
Despite snubbing Murray and Jokic as the “real heroes”, the Hall-Of-Famer sent out a tweet for them.
Jokic and Murray led their team to a 104-93 victory over the Miami Heat last night. Jokic recorded another triple double; 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds, and Jamal Murray finished with 26 points and 10 assists!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 2, 2023
Congratulating Gordon, MPJ, and Brown for their notable outing, Earvin called them the “real heroes”.
The real heroes of the game were Aaron Gordon (16 points), Michael Porter Jr. (a 14 point and 13 rebound double-double), and Bruce Brown. Brown had 10 big points off the bench.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 2, 2023
Everyone expected the Colorado-based franchise to have this massive size advantage. To their credit, right from tip-off, the team dominated the Heat in the paint which soon resulted in a 24-point lead. Even though Erik Spoelstra’s boys made a valiant effort to come back in the game, the Western Conference Champs’ finished the contest with a double-digit lead.
Heading into the series, the Heat were very much aware of the length this Denver team possesses. Johnson also stated how the Nuggets’ “length” will cause the Florida-based franchise problem for the remainder of the series.
Denver’s length is going to be a major problem for the Miami Heat!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 2, 2023
Can the Miami Heat do anything about Nikola Jokic and co.’s size advantage?
While it is unlikely that Heat head coach, Erik Spoelstra will make changes to the starting lineup, we sure hope that the likes of Kevin Love and Cody Zeller get more playing time.
We even witnessed the Milwaukee Bucks possess a size advantage during the Heat’s first-round series, but playing gritty basketball helped Butler and co. emerge victoriously.
The team missed 26 attempts from beyond the 3-point arch, with many of them being wide-open looks. While no drastic adjustment can be made on the defensive end, offensively, the likes of Duncan Robinson and Max Strus can’t combine for an awful 1/14 shooting again.
Finally, while Bam Adebayo had a decent 26-point, 13-rebound display, Jimmy Butler needs to step up and be the team’s best player, as he has shown so perfectly all throughout the playoffs.
