The opening game of the NBA Finals was a record-setter. And that was not, of course, a very good thing for the Miami Heat.
In the opening 104-93 loss to the Denver Nuggets, big man Bam Adebayo put together an impressive night, going 13-for-25 from the field and logging 26 points with 13 rebounds. Gabe Vincent was good, too, scoring 19 points and making five of his 10 3-point attempts.
Star Jimmy Butler was a shell of himself, scoring just 13 points and shooting 6-for-14 from the field.
And there were the record-setters, Caleb Martin and Max Strus. They were, uh, not good.
Strus: 0-for-10 on shot attempts, 0-for-9 on 3s. Zero points.
Martin: 1-for-7 on shots, 1-for-2 on 3s. Three points.
That is a combined 1-for-17, of course, and it ties an NBA record for the worst shooting by starting teammates in an NBA Finals game, per ESPN Stats and Info via Jorge Sedano (minimum of 15 shot attempts). The other record-holders are former Celtics Ray Allen (0-for-13) and Kendrick Perkins (1-for-4) in 2010. More on the Celtics to come.
Erik Spoelstra Not Concerned About Max Strus & Caleb Martin
After the game, coach Erik Spoelstra said he was not worried about the poor shooting from two of his most important role players. The pair have been vital in getting the Heat into this series to begin with, with Martin being especially effective to this point. He was a star against the Celtics (19.2 points, 60.2% shooting, 48.9% 3-point shooting) in the East finals and, overall, averaged 14.1 points on 56.6% shooting in the playoffs.
Strus had shined in big moments of the postseason, too. He averaged 10.3 points, making 45.2% of his shots and 35.9% from the 3-point line in the playoffs. But after his abysmal showing in Game 1, his shooting percentages dropped to 42.3% and 33.0%.
Coach Erik Spoelstra claimed he was not concerned.
“They are fine,” Spoelstra said. “I mean, they are not going to get sick at sea. If they are shooters, you’re not always going to be able to make all the shots that you want. Then you have to find different ways to impact the game. Our game is not built just on the 3-point ball. We have proven that time and time again. We can win games. We can win series, regardless of how the three is going. But we also have ignitable guys. You see a couple go through and that also can become an avalanche. One way or the other, we have to find a way to get the job done.”
Struggles Put Celtics Fans in a Tizzy
If there was not too much concern about the Strus-Martin combo in Game 1 from the Heat, at least the Miamians could take comfort in the fact that, days after defeating Boston in Game 7 of the East finals, the Heat were still in the collective heads of Celtics country.
Celtics play-by-play radio announcer Sean Grande tweeted out a reminder of the Heat’s 3-point prowess on a series-by-series basis, subtly pointing out what an anomaly it was that the Heat made 43.4% of their 3s in the series vs. the Celtics:
MIAMI – 3-POINT SHOOTING
- Regular Season: 34.4%
- First two rounds: 36.3%
- Conference Finals: 43.4%
- Finals Game 1: 33.3%
MIAMI – 3-POINT SHOOTING
Regular Season: 34.4%
First two rounds: 36.3%
Conference Finals: 43.4%
Finals Game 1: 33.3%
Gary Washburn, Celtics columnist for the Boston Globe, pointed out that, “Martin and Strus are a combined 0 for 8 FG and the #Celtics are sitting at home saying, ‘Oh really?’”
Martin and Strus are a combined 0 for 8 FG and the #Celtics are sitting at home saying, “Oh really?”
Skip Bayless from Fox Sports 1 tweeted during the game about Strus’s struggles: “Max Strus, Celtics killer, is killing the Heat … 0-6 from three. Can’t even come close.”
Max Strus, Celtics killer, is killing the Heat … 0-6 from three. Can’t even come close.
Oh, and Dan Greenberg, Celtics uber-fan from Barstool Sports, maybe summed it up best from a Boston perspective: “Give me a f****** break.”
Give me a fucking break
On to Game 2, but for the Heat, one positive sliver from their struggles in Game 1.
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Strong Reaction to Heat Duo’s Game 1 NBA Finals Flop: ‘Give Me a … Break’