It's do-or-die time for the Miami Heat against the Denver Nuggets. After losing Game 4 at home, the team finds themselves in the dreaded 3-1 hole. While the chances of a comeback aren't 0%, it's going to be ridiculously difficult to pull this off. Despite the odds being against their favor, the Heat seem confident that they'll be back in Miami. Case in point: this Kyle Lowry interaction with Neymar, per Chris Haynes.
“Before departing the arena, (Heat PG) Kyle Lowry shook the hand of Brazilian football star Neymar and gave him a parting message. “We'll be back for Game 6,” he said. “We'll see you then.””
Damn. That's confidence right there. That, or it's Lowry simply psyching himself up for the gargantuan task they're about to face. There's only one team that ever came back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals: the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers. Other than them, there are 12 other times when teams have come back from a similar deficit in a different round. That includes Miami's Finals opponents: this same Nuggets team overcame 3-1 deficits TWICE in the same postseason.
The first agenda for the Heat is figuring out how to get their offense flowing again. Before the Finals, Miami's offense was on fire. Their threes were falling, the ball was moving, and it was beautiful to watch. In the Finals, that same free-flowing offense can still be seen at times. The only problem, though, is that their open shots just aren't falling, and the Nuggets are doing a good job disrupting Miami's rhythm. That's a big reason why the Heat lost despite a poor shooting game from both Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
The series now shifts back to Denver for Game 6. For Kyle Lowry to fulfill his promise to Neymar (and to keep their championship hopes alive), the Heat will need to eke out wins in enemy territory. They've done the improbable all postseason long: do they have one more miracle in them?
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