How did Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray become the first teammates to scored 30 points and each have a triple double in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against Miami? This film room study details Denver’s unstoppable two-man game, all the defensive coverages Erik Spoelstra, Bam Adebayo and the Heart tried to slow them down, along with the Nuggets defensive improvements and adjustments from earlier in the series.
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Ben Taylor is the author of Thinking Basketball, a Nylon Calculus contributor, creator of the Backpicks Top 40 series & host of the Thinking Basketball podcast.
Stats courtesy:
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Music by Alter Ego (Lost)
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48 Comments
9:35 holy mother of high ass IQ'S
Jokic and Murray are not easily limited and if somehow they are there will be wise open shots for the rest on the floor.
Need a team with tall players playing good if not great D like the Raptors are trying to form that might slow them down enough
I like this one two punch. Got a feeling the Heat will respond.
Christian Braun deserves the start tomorrow
Nooooooooooooooooooooo the Nuggets cannot be stopped from receiving the Larry O'Brien championship trophy! LOL
Stop Murray and let Jokic cook. Take a chance I guess
Talking slow asf to hit them 10 minutes lol
Ben simmons should watch how Gordon operates
This is a much better analysis. I reckon you saw my comment on the last video and you took it well, thank you. I see a lot of comparisons to the previous match, and that's awesome to know how they changed their plays to take the win instead of losing to the same strats. You even demonstrated how they remembered last game and acted accordingly in this one to shut down those options (like Jokic putting his hand in the passing lane they kept leaving open last game).
I also appreciate that you looked at Miami and explained what they did well last game, and why it didn't carry over into this game – their massive 3pt advantage was getting closed out a lot better by Denver. That helps really see how the teams adapt from game to game, what they change and how they managed to win.
Thanks for considering the feedback, I certainly notice and appreciate it 🙂 It turned out to be a great improvement to your analysis, in my opinion!
There is one thing I am curious about. I noticed in your analysis of Denver's better defence against the pick and roll, Miami didn't create nearly as much space as Murray does when coming off a Jokic screen. You highlighted that Murray goes across to the other side of the key to draw either both defenders, or take advantage of the switch, but in both cases creates space to force the defence to move. In your footage of Miami's P&R action I noticed that when they come off the screen, it's very close and become easy for the switch defender to cover both. I reckon the ball handler in this action should do what Murray is doing. I wonder if Miami will make this adjustment to get better mileage out of their pick and roll. With that space, a third defender might need to come over, opening up the 3pt opportunities that served them so well in Game 2.
Some food for thought ahead of game four!! Looking forward to your next analysis.
FUCK OFF ME, THINKING BASKETBALL JUST POSTED
That might be the best PNR action in the NBA.
Asking this question is a disrespect to Denver, they can win easy against miami
Joker is just Peyton Manning out there. He sees EVERYTHING.
Jimmy Butler: "You can't in without me!"
well, neither can someone win with you.
Would love to try to defend their two man game
As long as Denver puts in effort on the defense, they will win
Murray’s athleticism is the key to all of this
Jokic is 27 and Murray is 25 if they maintain these line up this team will cameback again next year coz until now there is no solutionon how to guard Jokic.
Another masterpiece. Does anybody know why I can't get the Thinking Basketball book on Kindle?
kinda weird how Gordon gets no love
2:37–2:43 This was exquisite!!!
2:10 agreed. Denver isnt a snake as Kerr said. This team is a two headed monster.
This is the best analysis YTC by far – I love this!
Outstanding analysis… few people ever give Denver enough credit for their D however that rookie is def going to change that narrative of the casuals… it just goes to show you that the BEST OFF production is sourced in excellent DEF… the 2nd chance points & rebounds don't just put points on the board in your favor each is a dbl whammy robbing the other team of its possessions & possible points at the same time… what we saw in game 3 is the TRUTH… Denver is the consensus #1 & miami is an #8 seed… I was illegally evicted from my home on Winona Ave in San Diego & have an Original Jurisdiction Case that is being obstructed at SCOTUS… so I was cheering on the Aztecs in the FF… it seems to me that miami is like SDSU in that they give 100% effort all the time & overachieve… just like in the FF tho at midnight it's time for cinderella to leave the party… the Blue Chippers at UConn were too smart talented big & high effort high character for SDSU to prevail… it seems to me the SAME fate has been crafted for miami… Denver is too smart, talented, big & at least in game 3 well Denver can play DEF & engage in a relentless high effort level of play in someone else's house too… problem is there is no cure for miami… they are simply outmatched & now Malone AND the Players have the Secret Formula for Miami's magic powers to victory cookbook… it's all over except for the crying… Sianara miami- you are NO MATCH for two players that make 30 triple dbls on the same floor on the same night!
Why do you pronounce Braune as Brown in America? Anywhere else that is pronounced "brawn".
2022 Jokic/Murray is 2016 LeBron/Kyrie
Side note: the nuggets court is so much easier on the eyes. Damn!
I get it, sure, but when they lost game 2 I kinda chuckle at the title
The new Stockton and Malone. It’s called pick and roll and the two mastered it for almost 20 years. Sad today’s players and coaches forgot this basic offense.
do you think they should give one of the nuggets role players the westbrook treatment and just never guard em so they’d always have a double on both jokic and murray
is there any way to stop jokic and murray ?
kidnap their families
Damn Denver look a lot better without MPJ
As good as always I really become a fan of Christian Braun how rare can a rookie play so maturely and impact the game at all places his defense is outstanding he is decision making on offense is on point and he is such a force to the rim great cutter knows how to place himself on the court and he is really good in transition too because he runs so hard to the rim.
It is the same with how Green and Curry plays. Only faster and better.
The only way to stop jokic is injuring him like gsw did against kawhi spurs
Why I miss Lebron
Amazing. You can always find some energy to get a shot up or penetrate for a layup, but the level of fitness and will power it takes to play great defense from start to finish… that is dedication.
Zaza Pachulia's foot can stop Jokic
It's all about Denver. Miami will play as much as Denver let them, like game 2. They literally don't have any chance if Denver decides to play a dedicated game, that's it.
Great breakdowns as always 🙂
A lot of these came from a Heat miss and they can't set up their defense.
The Heat can't miss shots, and for some reason they do something I haven't seen most of their run and that is run a Jimmy iso and move everyone on one side without any other action. It was the Embiid play.
Majority of that set, Jimmy missed and it puts the Heat defense on a scramble.
And they’re winning these games without Porter Jr and Pope who both have been playing horrible 😮
Miami had a great game 2 while Nuggets had tons of misscommunications some cold offence, and it was still a one-possession game. Murray and Jokic defence was superb this night and it will be interesting to see how Spo tries to limit their Stockton-Malone offence. Miami needs Butler to be more aggressive and their shooters need to be on point in order for them to have a chance
Best big and small duo since Kobe and Shaq!
great offense beats great defense
Košarka je igra inteligencije a ne samo snage i visine..
Too many options and clever disguises by the Nuggs—will Murray pass? No, he's eyeing Jokic, better anticipate it and double up the big guy…wrong! It's a quick, hard-nosed drive to the hoop. So, the next time they run that play, Heat defenders are going to doubt themselves now. It's the Art of War by Sun Tzu, applied to maneuvers on the basketball court. Just brilliant.
The Miami Midgets! Im waiting for their 50 point loss if this miami refs aint helping them