Heat’s supporting cast goes silent in NBA Finals Game 3. Miami can’t let that happen again
New York TimesMIAMI — It looked like everything was lining up for Caleb Martin to have his moment on Wednesday night. HUSTLE 💨 Caleb Martin with the tough bucket in transition as DEN/MIA battle in the 2Q on ABC!#NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV pic.twitter.com/1DPcZ6vs9M — NBA June 8, 2023 That’s pretty much where Martin’s moment ended, along with that of just about everyone else not named Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo on Miami’s roster. For long stretches of this game, it almost looked like a two-on-two game between the Heat stars and the Nuggets stars, and that’s never what the Heat want these games to look like. The only choice the Heat can turn to going into a pivotal Game 4 is doubling down on what’s brought them here: more physicality, defensive tenacity and trust in the others to lift Butler and Adebayo up and fill in whatever gaps are left open on offense. Otherwise, if the Heat can’t find a way to generate more offense soon, J. Cole and D-Wade may not have to worry about looking for tickets to Game 6 in Miami.