The sequence is eloquent and terrible for the Heat. Five minutes from the end of the third quarter, of Game 3, Jamal Murray tries his luck at 3-point against Bam Adebayo at the end of possession. It is missed but Michael Porter Jr., not blocked by Max Strus, arises to capture the offensive rebound with one hand, near the circle.
He tries to get back in without succeeding, gets another rebound and… misses again. Before his teammate Aaron Gordon has the final word by scoring in “tip in”. Balance sheet: three offensive rebounds for the Nuggets, therefore, who took advantage of the fact that the pivot opposite was very far from the circle and could not participate in this battle.
Rebounds: Adebayo (17) – rest of the Heat (16)
The latter, with his 17 rebounds, does not have much to be ashamed of in this regard in this match. The concern is the others. The Florida center grabbed more than half of his team’s rebounds, and not a single one of his teammates exceeded four catches…
The Heat thus finished with only 33 rebounds, where their opponents recovered… 58. “ It’s significant to finish with 25 more rebounds in a Finals game. And it’s not just Nikola’s 21 rebounds (Jokic). Aaron has 10, Jamal 10, Michael 7, Christian (Braun) 4”, enumerates without sulking his pleasure Mike Malone.
Obviously different tone from Erik Spoelstra who believes that his team has lost “ many physical battles on the balls which trail in the air or on the floor, throughout the match, at key moments. (The Nuggets) made the difference at tipping times. […] At our best, we find ways to overcome it, make it difficult for them, and not lose the overwhelming majority of those physical battles. »
Jimmy Butler doesn’t explain it
Author of two small rebounds, Jimmy Butler does not really have an explanation to provide on the subject: “ I cannot answer this question. Maybe it has to do with being at home and thinking you’ve done something. I don’t know. It just can’t happen. It won’t happen again. It starts with me, I have to focus on the defensive aspect. I have to go get the balls lying around. If I start doing it, everyone will have to follow. »
The Florida coach, whose team lost only 4 balls in all (against 13 to the Nuggets), considers that this kind of effort nevertheless contributes to the ” identify from the Heat. ” And that can sometimes affect the flow of the rest of your game. That’s no excuse. We’ve proven time and time again that you can win and find different ways to do it, whether you’re confident or not, whether the ball goes in or not. “, Continues the technician, according to whom the clumsiness of his troop (37%) played.
“ I want to go see the video because I’m not quite sure. That’s what I felt. We’re at our best when we win those battles first, so we can tick that box, the physical battles, the “50/50 balls.” We win these battles and settle the rest along the way », concludes Spoelstra.
