Denver Nuggets vs Miami Heat: Main takeaways

Denver Nuggets come up with clutch win.

So, the top seeded Denver Nuggets took on the 6th seeded Miami Heat to win their 27th game of the season. However, with the Heat being a virtual .500 team should the game have been that close?

Is this a case of there being no weak teams in the NBA or, were the Nuggets simply a little fatigued after having to play back-to-back games?

We take a closer look at the action last night between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat to provide you with the main takeaways of the game.

Denver Nuggets 3 Areas Of Improvement

Whilst the Denver Nuggets successfully left South Beach with a win. There were 3 things they could have done better to have made things easier for themselves. Last night, the Heat scored 56 points in the paint compared to 52 points for Denver.

To ensure that number is lower going forward, the Denver Nuggets have to communicate more to help each stay on top of their assignments. They also need to do a better job of boxing out every time and cutting off baseline drives.

An example is when Malik Beasley at about 4.26 mark in the 2nd quarter allows Waiters to drive baseline, turn the corner and then pass to Winslow for the finish. Whenever a player drives baseline a defender can simply cut off the drive by aligning their outer leg with the baseline.

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Failing that Beasley hands should have at least been up and wide to deflect any passes made. Another benefit of boxing out and playing fundamental defense is it would enable the Denver Nuggets to give up less free throws.

The Denver Nuggets gave up 25 free throws to the Miami Heat. Thankfully they only made 15 of them. As the Heat had the potential to win last night’s game from the charity stripe. The Heat also struggled from 3, shooting 8 of 31 (25.8%) and but made up for it by attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line. Again communication, fundamental and help defense would help Denver handle Miami’s offense a lot better.

Last but not least, turnovers. Looking at the bright side, if, Denver turn the ball over they normally get back on defense to stop points being given up. Last night was a continuation of this as the Nuggets had 14 points off of turnovers whereas Miami had 9.

However, the Nuggets still turned the ball over a whopping 16 times (Miami only had 6 turnovers). That figure still hurt Denver as far as possessions and time spent without the ball, on defense. Jokic (3), Beasley (3), Hernangomez (2) and Plumlee (2) had 10 turnovers between them.

Obviously turnovers happen, however, Mike Malone would do well to take advantage of the teaching moment to ensure Denver improves in this area as the season progresses. Again, the Denver Nuggets are true championship contenders and the only thing that can stop them is themselves.

Finally The Fourth

With last night’s game being tied at 76 apiece by the end of the 3rd quarter. It’s easy to frame last night’s game as a game that was decided by what happened in the 4th quarter.

In the 4th, the Denver Nuggets held Miami to their 2nd lowest scoring quarter of the night outscoring the Heat by the four points that would win the game. That is the definition of clutch and the example of a team that has some grit.

Whilst we have shown above where Denver can improve. It is also fair to say that the Nuggets did their fair share of things right last night too. Normally, Miami shoot 35.2% from 3.

Which is good for 15th best in the NBA. Last night, the Heat performed well below this as Denver did a better job of guarding the 3.

The 4th quarter is where true winners always shine and last night the Denver Nuggets once again showed what they were made of.

Next up are the Los Angeles Clippers. The challenge for the Denver Nuggets now is for them to get back to playing at a high level on both sides of the floor.

Recently, Denver have performed less well on the defensive end. However, the Nuggets are due a victory over the Clippers and should have plenty of motivation.

Be sure to catch all of the action, it will be a good one.