The Miami Heat have wrapped up their first win of the 2023 NBA Finals. On Sunday, June 4th, the Heat tied the series at one game apiece with their 111-108 win over the Nuggets in Denver.
The Heat have amassed seven total playoff wins in games when they trail by 10 points in these 2023 playoffs. No wonder the Heat’s grit and toughness continues to garner a great deal of attention from the media, who just can’t stop talking about “Heat Culture.”
The Denver Nuggets disposed of the Heat pretty handily in Game 1, so Heat fans had reason for disquietude when the MVP on the opposing side used his versatility and court awareness to ensure his team practically lived in the paint. Nikola Jokic camped out at the free throw line and created for himself and his teammates. His two-man game with Jamal Murray is one of the most potent in the league. Murray can score from anywhere on the court and is fast and skilled enough to create a shot for himself at any time.
The great part of the beauty of an NBA series lies in the adjustments that take place between games. Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra made a bold adjustment and one that yielded positive results right from the outset. Even though Heat Center Kevin Love had not seen any minutes of late, he was inserted into the starting lineup in Game 2.
Kyle Lowry gave us some insight as to the motivation behind this decision when he echoed Jimmy Butler’s statements after Game 1 that the Heat “wanted to play with more physicality.” Spoelstra did not want his opponent to establish a presence in the paint, knowing the Nuggets have a very athletic big man in Aaron Gordon who was very active alongside Jokic and who would be eager to dominate for the second straight game.
Yet in spite of this, Spoelstra could look to Game 2 with confidence knowing that in 2023, “Heat Culture” includes an added ingredient, the ingredient of Love.
A former lottery pick, Kevin Love is a proven winner. He is such a winner, in fact, that he has reached the NBA Finals every single year he has appeared in the playoffs, a total of five times. He played in four NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers as well as the current series with Miami. His experience and leadership were on display Sunday night.
Love’s Game 2 stat line may not jump out at you. He logged six points on 2/9 shooting in 22 minutes. Here’s the takeaway that speaks volumes: Love’s team outscored the Nuggets by 18 points in the 22 minutes he played. With his 10 rebounds, he established the force that Spoelstra and Butler stated their team needed to play with. According to Heat guard Kyle Lowry, Love made an impact even before Game 2 even tipped off: “He changed our locker room with his vocalness.”
If ever the intangibles mattered, they did this past Sunday evening. NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said, “The Kevin Love thing worked. It’s harder for Jokic to pass over Kev. Kevin pulls Jokic further away from the basket.” It won’t show up on the stat sheets in individual statistics but Love’s presence enabled his team to space the floor and find lanes to cut in. Even the number of shots Bam Adebayo was able to find in the paint owed a debt to Love being able to stretch the floor with his shooting and passing abilities. Adebayo contributed a highly efficient 21 points.
Marc Jackson raved about Kevin Love being the best outlet passer in league history. Love makes the game easier for every single one of his teammates. No wonder Kyle Lowry was such a huge proponent of the decision to start Kevin Love, calling it a “great coaching adjustment, bringing Love in the starting line up.”
Love’s stat line included 10 rebounds and one assist. Not all the impact plays he made would be noted on a stat sheet. He deflected the ball in the first quarter leading to a fast break that resulted in an easy bucket for his team. “The Denver Nuggets were not prepared from jump street for the Miami Heat’s increased urgency and physicality,” Jeff Van Gundy boldly asserted.
The Heat’s sense of urgency was still palpable in the 4th quarter when the Nuggets tried to pull away as they had in Game 1. This time, however, the Heat still had reserves of energy and looked fresh shooting their shots from distance. They shot very efficiently from the three point line, outscoring the Nuggets 36-25 in the fourth quarter. Overall, the Heat shot 48.7% from the field, sinking 17/35 three-point shots.
Devoted basketball fans know that Kevin Love is considered the greatest outlet passer in NBA history. Sometimes we’re lucky as fans and our favorite sports supply a nugget of knowledge that is almost too serendipitous to be true. It just so happens that Love’s middle name is “Wes,” in honor of Wes Unseld, the man who had been regarded as the greatest outlet passer of all time – that is, before Love came along.
So it seems that Kevin Love is a player of destiny. The question then remains: will the Heat prove to be a team of destiny in 2023?
Game 3 is Wednesday, June 7th in Miami.