As the Miami Heat return to a building they’ve historically struggled in, they were looking to get their first regular season win in Denver since 2016.
The Heat got another injury report bump, as Kasparas Jakucionis was made available to potentially make his NBA debut. But it’s always one step forward, two steps back on that injury report.
Bam Adebayo stepped awkwardly on a handoff and screen to Norman Powell in the first quarter, which had him come up hobbled. He went to the locker room, and didn’t return due to that left foot.
But let’s get into some takeaways from tonight:
Nov 5, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (9) defends on Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the first quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
After Adebayo went down, it led to many looking down the Heat bench to figure out what’s next. Erik Spoelstra was already trying to eliminate Kel’el Ware’s minutes being linked with Nikola Jokic, but he had no other option: it was his best chance. He had decent pockets upon entering with fronting and doing his best to contain, but the inability to clean up the defensive glass consistently hurt Miami. 14 offensive rebounds for Denver compared to 1 for Miami in the first half pretty much tells the story. After it was time for Ware to exit, it became apparent there was no other big available. Two-way contract Vlad Goldin is spending time with Sioux Falls at the moment, leading to Keshad Johnson entering as back-up five. Did the Heat bring small ball energy? Indeed, but energy doesn’t provide strong box-outs for rebounds over seven footers. The Heat are a big man away from disaster with this roster, which was already known.
Nov 5, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) shoots the ball in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
The Heat’s primary scoring punch always seems to come in waves. Norman Powell always likes to set the standard early in the game, by firing from three off screens with a limited amount of dribbles. The pressure increases, defensive aggression rises, and he finds himself fouled on threes more and more often. After he exits, in comes Jaime Jaquez Jr. His downhill juice never seems to run out, as he finds a size advantage and goes right at the chest before kissing it off glass. One doing 16 points of first half damage from deep, and another doing 10 points of damage in the lane. But the third offensive punch seems to pick his spots inbetween both of those waves. Andrew Wiggins has been flying under the radar as an efficient offensive option, adding in another 10 first half points on 4 of 5 shooting. Nice turn-arounds in the lane, off the catch launches, and his overall activity is felt. When an offensive pillar like Adebayo goes out, it’s clear the offensive creation falls onto these three guys.
Nov 5, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins (22) and center Kel’el Ware (7) defend on Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the second quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Aside from the easy answer of the impact the high altitude has on teams coming in, there is one simple on-court aspect that puts Miami in an uncomfortable position. When both players and coaches play against the Miami Heat, the one thing they always know is that Erik Spoelstra will be the one dictating things more often than not. Meaning if he wants to take a certain player out of the equation, he will fully lean into it and force teams to pick another direction. But with the Nikola Jokic led Nuggets, he’s always the one dictating the terms. He slows the game down to his team’s speed, plays quarterback in the half-court, and forces the game to be played on his turf. Whenever the Heat face this ball club, it always feels they’re on their heels in a sense. Is it the conditions? Are they just a better team? It’s possible, but the inability to choose how the game is played feels to be a massive factor.
