NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 1, 2023

Bam Adebayo

Haywood Highsmith

Miami Heat

Game 1: Postgame

Denver Nuggets 104, Miami Heat 93

Q. Bam, you had pretty much tied your career high for field goal attempts in the third quarter, and then you surpassed it. Were you given a little bit more space in the paint tonight than maybe you were expecting?

BAM ADEBAYO: Definitely. And also, I made open shots. I made the shot that I usually shoot.

Q. Bam, tonight it didn't seem like there were open shots for a lot of guys in the first half. When you went into halftime, were you comfortable with the process, even if the results weren't where you wanted them?

BAM ADEBAYO: Definitely. Definitely comfortable with the shots we took. You know, I felt like we had a lot of open shots tonight. Ball just didn't go in. That's part of the game.

But I feel like our shooters will bounce back.

Q. You had said before the series started that the key would be to not get Jokic going from a passing standpoint. What can you do to limit that aspect of his game moving forward?

BAM ADEBAYO: I feel like early in the game, miscommunications caused a lot of our guys to not talk enough. Miscommunications, and a lot of guys were open in the first half.

I feel like going into the second half, we definitely got better with the cadence and talked through it more.

Q. A lot of things coming into this series, maybe fatigue and elevation. Do you feel like in Game 2 you guys have kind of weathered that and can put that to rest?

BAM ADEBAYO: I don't, honestly. I don't think that was part of the game anyway. I mean, we didn't -- I didn't even think about the altitude until you just said it. But the biggest thing is we just missed open shots. We took care of the ball. We got it where it was supposed to go. We just missed shots today.

Q. You guys only took two free throws tonight. Do you feel like you guys weren't aggressive enough offensively? Do you think that's the reason for that low number?

HAYWOOD HIGHSMITH: You want me to answer that?

Yeah, I didn't even realize it was two free throws only, and it was only my two free throws. So that was pretty interesting. I think we were aggressive, but we did shoot a lot of jumpshots because we were open. It's weird having two free throws. I've never seen that before.

BAM ADEBAYO: We made history.

Q. In regards to the free throws, also, were there any thoughts in terms of the locker room postgame about that at all or Coach Spo mention that at all?

BAM ADEBAYO: No. I mean, when we got in the locker room and seen the stat sheet, I feel like that we were all shocked that we only had two free throws.

But we're going to watch film tomorrow, get our minds wrapped around it, and I feel like we'll shoot more in Game 2.

Q. Haywood, similar to how you got some high-level assignments last series; you got some minutes on Jamal tonight. What's unique about trying to go against him specifically?

HAYWOOD HIGHSMITH: Yeah, Jamal, he's a three-level scorer: He can shoot the three, he can pull up and get to the rim. Just got to make it difficult as much as possible. He's a crafty player, has a good handle. He's in good condition.

So I mean, we've got to just key in on him and just make it as tough as possible for him.

And yeah, I'll probably be guarding him a lot this series as well, and we have a lot of different guys who can guard him. So it will be interesting to see how we do.

Q. I asked Jimmy this. How do you balance not just feeling your way through a game or a series and putting your head down and making things happen, as opposed to taking kind of what they give you?

BAM ADEBAYO: I mean, you said you asked this about Jimmy?

Q. I asked him the same question.

BAM ADEBAYO: Oh, okay. I mean, that's what -- that's what Spo wants us to do. He wants us to be aggressive. He wants us to be assertive. He wants us to make things happen. He wants us to create. And you know with that responsibility, we have to be smart with it. And I feel like all the shots that me and Jimmy took were good shots. We missed a couple. I feel like my teammates missed a couple.

But like I said, I feel like we'll bounce back Game 2.

Q. Haywood, for you, just going from your minutes up and down during the regular season to here at the point now, like you said, you're probably going to play a prominent role moving forward, what's that like for you being on this stage and knowing that you're going to be playing an important role?

HAYWOOD HIGHSMITH: Yeah, I mean, this is the ultimate stage, the Finals. I've been prepared for it. I've been working at this my whole life. I'm built for this. You know, the ups and downs through the season I've been through and the ups and downs I've been through in my career.

So you know, I'm ready to go, and I'm built for this, like I said.

Q. Bam, I promise I'm not trying to get you fined but 2 foul shots to 20, that's -- I mean, that's quite a discrepancy. Doesn't seem like you guys are complaining about the officiating.

BAM ADEBAYO: If I do say something, will you take the fine? (Laughter).

Like I said, I just feel like we can't even get into that. You know, we can't let them dictate the game. I just feel like we took a lot of jumpshots, and we missed a lot of them instead of getting to the basket.

Like I said, we're going to watch film and get back to the drawing board.