Back Cuts and Mismatches: How Denver Nuggets carved up the Heat in Game 1

Despite entering the 2023 NBA Finals as heavy favorites against the Miami Heat, many wondered if the Denver Nuggets‘ high-flying offense would get bogged down by the Eastern Conference champs. Following Game 1, the Nuggets’ high-scoring attack may be capable of reaching even greater heights than previously thought.

With just over 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter of the opening game of the NBA Finals, Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat could sense an opening. Having entered the second half down 15 points against a Nuggets squad that had dissected them through two quarters, the ever-scrappy Heat responded with a quick five-point run and the chance to trim the lead to single digits as the game’s homestretch began.

Easily their team’s best offensive performer through the opening half, Adebayo brought the ball upcourt for Miami, stationing himself along the left sideline for a handoff to the curling Gabe Vincent. Anticipating Denver deploying their drop defense–in which the trailing defender fights over the pick to force the ball-handler off the three-point line towards the waiting big man–Adebayo slipped the screen between Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokic, receiving the rock on a bounce pass from Vincent with a clear lane towards the basket.

Left as the only defender with a chance to contest, Jamal Murray rotated from his position just outside the lane on the weak side before launching into the air to meet the center at the rim. Contorting his body away from Adebayo’s and avoiding the foul, Murray was able just ever so slightly to touch the ball, loosening Bam’s grip so that the scoring attempt failed and the Nuggets could launch into transition.

Sprinting ahead of his teammates and the backpedaling defenders, Murray recollected the rock down the court before gathering for an and-one shot that stretched the lead back to 13.

The sequence was notable, not only because it represented one of the few times Miami appeared to have a genuine opportunity to reassert themselves back into the game–only to have Denver quickly snuff out the attempt–but because it was a prime example of how well the Nuggets were able to turn their defensive efforts into prime scoring attempts throughout Game 1.

Powered to the Finals by a methodical halfcourt offense that relied on constant motion and pristine floor spacing, the Nuggets buried the Heat under a transition attack that feasted on mismatches all over the court.

For a team most NBA observers have spent the better part of five years watching, it was proof that Denver still may have more secrets up their sleeves than previously thought.

Versatility is the watchword for the Denver Nuggets’ offense

Entering the Finals, many expected Miami to experiment with a defensive rotation similar to the one the Los Angeles Lakers employed throughout the Western Conference Finals: place a smaller, stout defender on Jokic– Jimmy Butler/LeBron James–and allow your defensive anchor–Adebayo/ Anthony Davis–to leave his assignment on the weakside at just the right moment to roam as a free safety and potentially trap Jokic down low.

While the deployment comes with a bevy of risks–not the least of which is the wide-open corner threes you are ceding if the ball-handler can pass out before the help defender arrives–the trade-off of forcing one of Denver’s players not named Jokic or Murray to beat you, does have its merits.

Instead, through the early going of Game 1, the Heat used a scheme that essentially had them working straight-up against the Nuggets.

Take a quick look at this clip from the game’s early going.

For all the forward-guessing, Miami began the proceedings with every man guarding their positional opposite. To start, Murray initiates the action, with Vincent struggling to get over the pick, as Adebayo drops in preparation for a Jokic roll. Butler remains in the lane but is shaded towards Aaron Gordon to prevent a back cut lob attempt, while Caleb Martin and Max Strus stick with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter Jr along the perimeter.

The only interesting wrinkle is near the end of the possession when Erik Spoelstra begins to show his hand by having Butler come with quick help from Jokic’s blindside to try and spring a trap, leaving Gordon to his devices along the sideline. Jokic, being the 6-foot-11, 284-lb behemoth that he is, not only senses Butler coming with the help but deftly lowers the ball away from the forward’s prying hands before elbowing his way through the trap to deliver a pass toward the unguarded Gordon in the corner.

Even though Gordon airballs the three-point shot off the far side, the sequence is illuminating because it illustrates that Miami not only plans to have Butler roam as an extra defender–utilizing his court awareness to force bad shots and turnovers, as well as his passing ability to spark the offense in transition–but that they identified Gordon as the Nugget least capable of hurting them as a secondary-option.

All due respect to Gordon aside, that strategy in a vacuum could hardly be described as bad.

As valuable as Gordon’s defense is, the ninth-year forward ranked in the bottom 43rd percentile of all scorers per shot attempt, according to Cleaning the Glass, with a 15% usage rate.

Translation: not only was it perfectly conceivable that he would miss the shot attempt, but the Heat could also be comfortably sure that he would be unable to find the passing lanes to give the Nuggets a second life on the possession.

Nevertheless, Gordon became the focal point of the first half, if not one of the main stories of Game 1, because of Denver’s willingness to exploit the opportunities that the Heat provided them in transition.

Shooting an anemic 40% from the field while being outrebounded, Miami found themselves on their backfoot throughout the game as the normally pace-averse Nuggets increased their tempo to exploit the cross matches the Heat were ceding in transition.

Again, we’ll roll the film a few minutes later in the first quarter as Denver launches into an attack off another errant three-point shot from Strus.

While the Heat backpedaled on defense to keep Jamal Murray in front of them, Gordon had already sprinted down the court off the missed attempt to station himself deep in the post behind the defenders. Even as Miami tried to match up appropriately against the oncoming four Denver players, Gordon had sealed the hapless Strus so effectively that the forward needed a simple bounce and lowered shoulder to reach the rim for a layup after receiving the entry pass.

Though the sequence was far from flashy, it was illuminating as to the Nuggets’ offensive strategy through the first two quarters, as the team ran a variation of the action to the tune of 14 first-half points for Gordon.

On its face, the team’s early strategy was surprising, given that they rarely deviated from their gorgeous motion offense to exploit mismatches so heavily in the regular season. Yet, dig a bit deeper, and it becomes clear that the Nuggets expected the Heat to dare Gordon to beat them and that the squad decided to place their forward in the best position to do just that.

Not only did Denver succeed in getting Gordon in a rhythm early, lest they require his shot-making ability late, but they found an inventive solution to one of the series’ key questions: who would win the battle at the rim?

During the regular season, the Nuggets relied on rim shots over 37% of the time, while the Heat allowed the fourth-fewest shot attempts at the basket over the same period. That the two excelled in the same area on the opposite side of the court made the post a microcosm of the larger battle between the two teams.

As it turns out, the Nuggets found an end-around that made the whole question moot for at least one game.

The ability to adjust on the fly and contort their lethal attack to hone in on their opponent’s vulnerability is, in many ways, what makes this Denver team so special. In the first round, it was allowing Jamal Murray to run rampant along the perimeter to mitigate the interior defense of the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the second, their depth helped outlast a Phoenix squad that ran four players deep. And in the Conference Finals, Nikola Jokic so brilliantly drew the attention of one of the league’s best defenders that it exposed the soft underbelly of the Lakers’ defense behind him.

It’s not just that the Nuggets have an adjustment ready for their opponent’s counter but that they are more than willing to lean into what their opponent may prefer, only to do so with an added twist that brings along its own set of problems.

Before long, teams invariably adjust their defense to where Denver can once again unleash their back-cut-heavy offense, like a prize fighter tossing out jabs in preparation for the lethal right hook.

To be clear, the Heat will likely deploy their adjustments heading into Game 2. Whether Butler or someone else, Miami can do a much better job of disguising where the help will be coming from, to say nothing of not allowing so many cross-matches in transition. Moreover, the fact that Denver allowed a mere two free throws the entire game (!!) almost certainly has to be in the higher bound of what the team is capable of on the defensive end.

Still, even if the Nuggets regress in some areas, it’s just as likely they are capable of exploiting others.