Ever since the Miami Heat opened the 2021-22 NBA season, they’ve looked very impressive and a 7-2 start only proves that.
After defeating the Utah Jazz on Saturday night, the Heat have won four of their first five home games and will look to carry that momentum forward and toward the Ball Arena, as the Denver Nuggets will be their next opponent.
Early in the season, the Heat have succeeded against a handful of teams that have featured at least one marquee player. That includes Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee and Kevin Durant of Brooklyn, both All-NBA talents and previous Most Valuable Player Award winners.
However, the Heat will endure yet another defensive challenge — who may be just as, if not, a more difficult matchup — than the two stars mentioned above. That would be the reigning MVP and a marquee in his own right, Nikola Jokic.
As a seven foot offensive phenomenon, it isn’t unknown that Jokic’s status as a top distributing big man of today’s era has risen and being a walking highlight reel among most NBA centers doesn’t hurt either.
However, his game is often simplified to that aspect, as his uniqueness revolves around an ability to manipulate defenses and raise the trajectory of his teammates with his passing. However and as it must be said, he is also just a flat-out unguardable scorer.
Miami Heat: Nikola Jokic Their Toughest Assignment Yet
What often makes Jokic such a tough cover is his high release point. You might’ve witnessed several moments in his career where he has deferred to his signature Sombor Shuffle step-back in late shot-clock situations or any other, as his opponents have almost zero answers for it.
With excellent footwork to operate in the high-post, Jokic can launch hooks from an extended range and find deep positioning against smaller defenders to finish in close. Despite Jokic lacking the athletic or rim protection qualities to be an elite defensive center, the Nuggets have kept quality defenders and lengthy athletes around him.
Players such as Aaron Gordon and Will Barton have contributed on that end, as Denver is only one of three teams with a higher Defensive Rating (100.6) than Miami. This is also after they had ranked 11 spots lower last season.
The Heat, of course, have a blooming center of their own. Bam Adebayo has completely redirected his offensive game, transitioning from more of a secondary facilitator of last season, into a more aggressive scorer of current.
Although the Heat’s fifth year center has stepped up his scoring approach, he’s also defended at an unseen level, as the Heat are just getting started with a brand new identity.
A successful night against Rudy Gobert on Saturday, Adebayo’s toughest matchup at his position awaits him, as both premier big men will meet for the first time this season, opening a new chapter between two skilled pivots.
Miami Heat: ‘The Joker’ Will Be A Lot To Handle, But They Have To Guard Bam Too
Adebayo will also have plenty of support. The expectation should be for Miami to continue utilizing their enhanced defensive style, providing switches and forcing traps against Jokic, as they’ve shown against other top NBA stars throughout their first nine games.
One exposed gap for Miami last season was their rebounding, but more specifically, not having multiple players on the floor who could rotate and keep larger matchups off the offensive glass. However, the Heat have been amongst the top rebounding teams in the league thus far, methodizing an approach for several players to gang-rebound.
This is where P.J. Tucker’s value shines bright, because he can successfully box out against larger matchups. It’ll be important for Miami to, simply, do their work early and continue making correct reads on the Serbian big man, who’s currently the third-leading rebounder in the league.
- The Heat held Jokic to 17 points on 6-14 shooting back on April 4th, but Miami fell short to Denver, 106-123.
In 12 career games, Jokic has averaged 19.0 points on 51 percent shooting and 41 percent from beyond the arc against the Heat. As they do for most elite players anyway, Miami will throw whoever and whatever they can to make life difficult for the Serbian big man.
The best they can do is deny him in the post and be aware of his next available decisions with the ball. As the Heat will embark on game one of a five game Western Conference road trip on Monday, they’ll continue in Los Angeles against both the Lakers and Clippers on Wednesday and Thursday.
Their final two matchups will be another matchup with the Utah Jazz and then the Oklahoma City Thunder to close the trip — as Miami looks to round out a critical stretch of their season schedule. However, their first test will begin in Denver.
If history serves as any indication, they’d better study up.