NBA Finals: Warriors Coach Steve Kerr Reveals Key Adjustment Miami Heat Made in Game 2

• The Miami Heat bounced back in the NBA Finals after winning Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets
• They made several important adjustments that secured the win for them
• Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr identified the key adjustment Erik Spoelstra made to slow down the Nuggets

The Golden State Warriors may have been eliminated from the 2023 NBA playoffs, but their coach Steve Kerr is keeping an eye on the NBA Finals.

Shortly after the Miami Heat beat the Denver Nuggets 111-108 in Game 2 to tie the series 1-1, Kerr identified a major adjustment the Heat made to secure a hard-fought victory.

The Heat produced a rugged display in Game 1 which easily gave the favorites, the Nuggets, an easy win. Some of their key players had forgettable performances.

Max Strus was 0 for 10 in Game 1, including 0 for 9 from three-point range. In Game 2, he scored 12 of his 14 points in the first quarter, including 4-of-7 from deep. Gabe Vincent had 23 points, Jimmy Butler scored eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, and Bam Adebayo had 21 points.

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As a team, Miami went 17-of-35 from three-point range.

Kerr on Miami's Game 2 adjustment

The Heat definitely took a different approach in Game 2. One obvious decision Erik Spoelstra made was to start Kevin Love, who didn't play a single minute in Game 1. The 2016 NBA champion gave Miami more size and some rim protection which took away easy shots at the rim, per CBS Sports.

The Heat also made Nikola Jokic a scorer. By making Jamal Murry's life difficult with suffocating defense, the two-time MVP had to play one-on-five basketball. He scored 41 points but had just four assists. Murray had 18 points compared to the 26 he had in Game 1.

"You mentioned them starting Love," Kerr said. "That allowed Jimmy Butler to guard Murray. ... I haven't talked to Spo ... but I can see them in their coaching meeting saying, 'Murray is the head of the snake, not Jokic,'" via Sportskeeda.

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Kerr noticed the Heat's tactic of blitzing Murray.

"He's [Jokic] gonna dominate no matter what we do," Kerr said. "I think they just decided 'Murray is the guy we gotta stop,' so you start Love, put Jimmy Butler on Murray. ... They were blitzing Murray quite a bit and really tried everything to take him out of the game."

Their adjustments worked. Denver's supporting cast struggled to replicate their Game 1 performances.

Malone questions Nuggets' effort

Sports Brief earlier reported on Nuggets coach Michael Malone blasting his team for their disappointing performance in Game 2.

He questioned their effort, saying it is the playoffs and not a preseason game.

The Nuggets were close to sending the game to overtime, but Murray missed a potential game-tying three-pointer.