November 30th, 2016. That was the last time the Miami Heat went up to face the Nuggets in Denver and walked out with a W in the win column.
The team is trending in a healthier direction. Norman Powell is back, Tyler Herro is traveling, and Kasparas Jakucionis was upgraded to questionable for tonight’s match-up.
So as the Heat try and prepare to get over the Mile High City hump, here are three keys to doing so:
May 1, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; LA Clippers guard Norman Powell (24) shoots the ball against Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (32) and center Nikola Jokic (15) in the second half during game six of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Norman Powell is quite familiar with the match-up against the Denver Nuggets after facing them in a seven game series in the first round of the playoffs last season. Even deeper than that, he put together a 37 point and 7 for 11 three performance in the second game of the regular season against them a year ago. While the Heat are leaning into this fast paced, up-tempo style, it’s clear that it’ll be tougher to keep that up in this match-up with the high altitude impact. If that leads to more half-court play, that’ll lead to the Heat pulling Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas into the actions a bunch, leading to movement shooting Powell opportunities. His volume will be needed.
Jan 17, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) shoots the basketball over Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
When two of the top 3 scoring teams in the NBA match-up with each other, it’s really the other side of the floor that holds all of the importance. The Nuggets are currently scoring the most points a night in the NBA at 125 per game, which meets the Heat’s third best defense. It seems like Kel’el Ware off the bench will continue, as Erik Spoelstra most likely wants to attach Bam Adebayo to the Nikola Jokic minutes. That of course means not a lot of doubles being sent his way, as the Heat usually try to limit his elite play-making more than his scoring. The Nuggets are 20th in three pointers attempted and 19th in three point percentage, which means they’re a team that can really hurt you inside. Off-ball defense is the key factor against this Denver offense, and against a team that doesn’t turn the ball over much, you have to alter that narrative.
Oct 28, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) drives to the basket against Charlotte Hornets during the fourth quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The Nuggets are 4-2 to start the season, but there’s one connection between those two losses: the opposing bench outscored their bench. The Miami Heat still rank second in the NBA in bench points a game, so the depth in the Denver conditions remain important. Jaime Jaquez Jr as a downhill threat is always needed, but against the positional size of this Nuggets roster, there are two depth pieces that I think will be even bigger keys. The first one is Simone Fontecchio. When dealing with a hot sharpshooter, you just have to keep feeding them. Movement shooting and off the catch weak-side actions will be crucial when the ball-handlers put the Denver bigs into actions. The other key piece is Nikola Jovic. Aside from the Serbian connection with Jokic, this has always been a decent match-up for him. I’d expect an improved scoring night, and it’ll be extremely needed.
