89 Comments

murrays the key to beating denver , keep him under 20 we win .over 25 prob lose.calling on victor oh wait we have a younger taller dipo who never plays hh and a guy that cant shoot or defend and plays at least half the game max.spos a great coach (judging by rings playoffs etc)but his use of personnel and stopping of our runs at times leaves me scratching my head.

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no chance dude. Jamal Murray is averaging 27-7-6 over the playoffs. I think the formula is sound. Lock up the role players and make Murray and Jokic do everything. They had a historic performance on Wednesday. If they can keep that up, you gotta tip your hat. But if they cool down a little bit and the Heat role players are slightly less terrible on offense, the Heat win Game 4. My bigger concern is that you can't let MPJ and the Denver role players get rolling.

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Thanks for the write up and comments below. Only watched 1st half but felt in me, the Heat were going to loose this one unless they took care of Murray in the 2nd half which obviously they did not. He played hard in an attack mode, I had not seen before. Well Murray/ Jokic duo got 68 pts not unexpected. Seems Miami's players other than Bam and Jimmy did not show up. I also noticed that Denver improved on their perimeter defense a lot in the 1st half. Will watch a full replay. Still see Heat making some noise and likely may win the series 4-2 or 4-3.

Go Heat, Go!.

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Dang. just saw on hoopshype that Tyler Herro is officially out for Game 4.

One more Gabe Game?

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Is he out out for game 4? I just heard spo say he hasn't been cleared yet. Was hoping on that slim off chance he gets cleared day of game 4

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Didn't like how Heat started the 3rd Qtr with Jimmy taking 3 shots in the first 4 possessions ... seemed he was hunting for mismatches rather than ball movement.

Also - seems like the FT's continue to favor the Nuggets ... frustrating to see Jimmy fouled and no whistle

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Would love to see jimmy try to hit those bunnies before falling on his back when he feels contact rather than just flinging it. Even when he does get the whistle, he's missing out on an and 1

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Also - Strus was struggling and missed the first 3 shots in the 3rd Qtr ... don't want to take his confidence away ... but he needs to drive that and kick ... see Duncan's 4th Qtr in G2

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I thought it was huge when Murray hit that three at the end of a wildly confusing Denver possession, when the crowd was going absolutely bonkers.

We were making a run, I wanna say it was early in the 2nd quarter. And watching it looked like the crowd had Denver stuck. What a shot by Murray.

Really looking forward to game 4. Though we're down, we've really controlled the tempo of the games so far. Denver only scoring in the low 100s is how we can win. Keeping climbing that hill!

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I feel like there were a half dozen times when the Heat were making a run and Murray would pull a crazy shot out of his ass. I would say it's luck, but he's been doing it the entire playoffs.

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This one stood out because it was the first time I saw Jokic's process sped up, and not out of his own command. It really looked like the noise from the crowd had them shook.

Murray quieted all that noise.

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I agree, I think that whole team was shook except for Jokic and Murray. It's also what worries me a little bit. MPJ and KCP have been bad this entire series and the Nuggets are up 2-1. I'm worried that if those guys start hitting shots, even if it's only for one game, we're in real trouble

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Spo should consider another adjustment - either HH or Martin for Max with the starters. Max is shooting just over 21% from three this series. He’s shooting under 20 from the field, and these aren’t all contested shots.

Getting Herro those minutes might not be awful, but would be a size and defensive hit. HH or Caleb could fill in, in my eyes.

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While I admire Spo and his accomplishments, as I’ve said in the past, he frustrates me at times. I can’t imagine a better time to get Highsmith some meaningful minutes. I think it should have already been done.

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Definitely. HH has done everything asked of him and more. I cant understand not using him as every player who is more effective than not helps the collective effot.

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The only reason is, if HH is being kept healthy so he could be part of a trading block in the off season. That is the only reasonable explanation I can come up with.

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amen

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lots guys like bam ,dame beale to name two must be a good guy bam.this seasons not over by a long shot .i think calebs got some boston in him.i believe max needs to sit and let caleb ball out for 40mins.max killed us last year during biggest series doing the same whole playoffs this year.dont be stubborn spo

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We all knew this roster was lacking. It is a miracle we’ve gotten to this point. Let’s fantasize for a moment and wonder where we’d be - right now - if we didn’t have Herro, Duncan, Martin, and Jovic, but we did have Lillard? Bam, Butler, and Lillard? I think we’d be the favorites in this series.

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You bring up maybe the most interesting thing in team building. For lack of a better way of putting it, is it better to have an A to A+ player or two A- players. Like who would come back for Donovan Mitchell ( a classic A to A+ player), if it had to be two players and no draft picks or salary issues complicated the trade.

I say the Mitchell player is more valuabe than maybe a Holiday and Middleton of the Bucks. This is a star driven league. The best players are the ones who can score in crunch time, when noone else on a good team can. The Jimmy Butlers, who shoulder that load, are more valuable than two very good players because those two players may not be able to score at the tme when many games are decided.

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I will have more ideas to share after the Heat win 3 of the next 4 games! 😀

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make that trade happen rc

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I'm saving that for the offseason. But I might be ready to fantasize about a Herro comeback

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I know. I know. You’re right. I was just responding to a bunch of comments here today.

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For Miami Heat to beat this team, they have to shoot threes. Miami has always had a problem with 3-point consistency. It baffles me. They can go from beating the best of teams to losing to the worst of teams; from Playoff Heat to Season Heat. I don't have an explanation for this. All we can hope for is 3-point-shooting in Game 4. When a 3-point shooter is off, bring in another 3-point shooter, not just keep playing the guy who is off for 4 quarters, hoping he will improve. . It was good to see Yurtsevern in the 4th quarter. he is a needed big man. Even Haslem is a needed big man against Denver. Highsmith should have been played more.

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role players dunc max gabe play good 1 game bad another that why for now they are role players.tony brothers fkd up gabe last game.gabe is trending towards being a solid nba player.dunc max role players at best

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lillard lists miami as his top team he wants to go to "bam is his dog"

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joker murray rc manila hfl beat the heat?

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shaq or joker who u taking sun man

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Peak Shaq over Peak Joker ... not even close.

Comes down to defense & rebounding for me ... Joker would be in foul trouble all game long. He can't get off floor while Shaq would be dominant.

Remember when Shaq played Sabonis ... Shaq was too athletic

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Joker. Hands down. Not even close. He can do more than any other center in the history of the NBA! Triple doubles, 3's, paint protection, soft touch. You name it, he does it. Better than Embiid for sure. Stephen A. Smith says he is not one of top five players in NBA who deserves a max contract? He has Curry and LeBron ranked above him. They are sitting their asses at home. Give me a f'ing break!

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I agree and its so many things, able to score with brute force, nimble handles, high level spin moves, soft touch, high IQ, amazing vision, an astounding behind the neck three point shot, great rebounding ruggedness, and most amazing of all, amongst the greatest passing skills ever. He is not overhyped, he deserves all the hype.

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My initial knee jerk reaction was to possibly dispute that, but you’re right. His overall skill set is unlike anything I’ve seen in a guy that large, although Embiid is up there. I will,say this though. Shaq would’ve given Jokic fits in the paint area on both ends of the court.

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joker curry lebron thats pretty close sunman

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2022-23 - Joker #1 games, #1 FG%, #2 3pt%, #1 RPG, #1 ASP, #1 SPG

Curry 56g 34.7m 29.4ppg 49.3% FG 42.7% 3pt 6.1rpg, 6.3apg, 0.9 spg

Lebron 55g, 35.5mpg, 28.9ppg, 50.0% FG, 32,1% 3pt, 8.3 rpg, 6.8 apg, 0.9 spg

Jokic 69g, 33.7mpg, 24.5 ppg, 63.2% FG, 38.3% 3pt, 11.8 rpg, 9.8 apg, 1.3 spg

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jokers resume is nothing compared to steph and lebron,guys that big either get hurt or diminish fairly soon.the human body was not made for 7 ft 280 lb man run up and down hard court that much.gradually his body will give in sooner than later,right now hes the best how long will that last?

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We are only talking about today...not yesterday or tomorrow.

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ok today by far #1 not close

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is joker the best center in the last 40 years

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I've been watching since the 80's, he's probably the best I've ever seen

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Dream would've killed it in this current NBA ... his footwork and athleticism was ahead of his time ... had a great jump shot as well and he would've extended it to 3pt range if he played in this era.

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Name one better, based on skills. Some may be better in some areas. None are better overall. NONE!

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wilt chamberlain.bill russell saw them as a little kid but after that maybe kareem?

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Different times and different game. Chamberlin (1973) and Russell (1969) retired 50 years ago. Both were great, as was Kareem, but none had Joker's skills.

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i was not counting them sun man .joker over kareem not sure about that.that sky hook unstoppable,whats jokers go to .lets see joker in 5 years sunman

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malones coaching boston dont think we are still playing.guy made great adj to limit our 3s

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Spo did a better one. Heat hit 31.4% of their 3's; Nuggets hit only 27.8% of theirs. Where Denver killed us was in paint and mid-range. Denver's overall FG% was 51.2% to Heat's 37%.

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spos team to small.at one time he had kyle gabe dunc caleb vs there giants .im playing hh caleb bam jim all day and rotating others

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The way I look at it, Spo's coaching got the team this far, so I'm not going to second guess him. As we would expect, Miami is getting killed on the boards and in the paint. If that continues, Spo has no choice but to put more big bodies on Jokic (Zeller, Big Guac, O.Rob). Bam is just to small to stop him. I also think if Strus and Robinson aren't hitting their 3's, Hightower should get the bulk of their minutes. Hopefully, Herro can play in Game 4 and provide fire power off the bench using Lowry's minutes. It won't be easy to win 3 out of 4, but it is possible. One game at a time.

GO HEAT!!!

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jimmy got this team to boston caleb got us to denver whos getting us the ring uh bam your next

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orob not active.guac wont play.zeller has size but plays about 6 mins a game.guacs the man spo stubborn

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I thought everyone good to go but Herro and Dipo.

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orob cain not eligible i believe they can def help us size an athletic youngen

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the reg season heat is starting to show up little to much.theres only way to fix that its a bird its a plane its superman(

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joker shooting 63 % cant have that .u have a guy on the bench who is the same height and weight as joker but due to spos stubborness is just warming the bench.yert needed to be thrown into the lineup in reg season developed gotten experience for moments like this.i believe yert has the skills to play in this league.bam is just not a center

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