Kristian Winfield: Jimmy Butler, not Gabe Vincent, must guard Jamal Murray in NBA Finals
Jimmy Butler has to guard Jamal Murray at all times.
It’s the only way the Miami Heat will stand a fighting chance, now down 0-1 in the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets, courtesy of a 26-point effort from Murray in the Mile High City on Thursday.
While two-time MVP Nikola Jokic struggled to generate offense through the first three quarters before coming alive in the fourth, it was Denver’s lead guard who picked apart the Heat defense on an 11-of-22 shooting performance that also included 10 assists.
Yet, of Murray’s 22 field-goal attempts, Butler defended only two, and both were misses: a heavily contested stepback 2, and a contested pull-up 3 that clanked off left iron.
Still, Miami seemed keen on sticking with starting point guard Gabe Vincent as Murray’s primary defender. Murray shot 7 of 9 from the field when defended by Vincent and got to the paint with ease all night. He shot 3 of 5 when defended by Hayward Highsmith, 1 of 4 when guarded by Caleb Martin, and split his two attempts when he got the switch onto Heat starting center Bam Adebayo.
Zero percent, of course, speaks for itself. Murray also missed a 3 that was contested by Martin — but to get that shot off, he had to fight around Butler to get to the top of the key. Opponents have shot 4.7% worse when guarded by the Heat All-Star in these playoffs.
Stopping Murray will be the key if the Heat plan on this series extending beyond four games, as the Nuggets are loaded and led by Jokic, who finished with 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds on the night. The Heat have always had an effective game plan for the Serbian big man: Prior to Game 1, he had only scored more than 27 against the Heat twice in his career and hadn’t done so since 2019.
Jokic only took 12 shots but took just as many free throws and converted 10 times at the line. The Heat only took two free throws as a team but cut a 24-point lead down to just nine before the Nuggets went on to win, 104-93.
Murray aside, the scoring on each team was balanced: Five players for both Miami and Denver scored in double figures, and Adebayo’s 26 points matched Jokic’s scoring output. The Heat could have also used a more effective offensive performance from Butler, who finished with more field-goal attempts (14) than points (13) in Game 1.
The NBA Finals are all about adjustments, and both Erik Spoelstra and Michael Malone are known as two of the league’s best basketball minds.
Spoelstra should have started this series with Butler guarding Murray — but after Game 1, it’s clear the Heat have no other choice if they want to keep their longshot championship hopes alive.
