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The Heat, a Long Shot in the Playoffs, Pull Even With Long Shots

Asked if he knew why the Heat suddenly improved their shooting, Cody Zeller, Miami’s reserve center, said he thought the regular season “was inaccurate.”

“The playoffs are more accurate as far as how good of a shooter our guys are,” Zeller said. “We haven’t been surprised by guys making shots in the playoffs. We’re more surprised by not making shots during the regular season.”

The 3-pointer, which teams are more reliant on than ever, is a high variance shot. Offenses can create many open looks, but players are still shooting a ball into a circle that is 10 feet off the ground. You’re more likely to miss than make them. But if a team gets hot over a couple games, it doesn’t matter what the other team does defensively. The Celtics saw that, and so did the Nuggets in Game 2.

The Nuggets have more offensive weapons than the Heat. For the Heat to keep pace, they have to keep shooting more 3s.

“In terms of the shooters, that’s pretty simple: Let it fly. Ignite. Once they see two go down, it could be three, it could turn into six, just like that,” Spoelstra said Saturday, while snapping his fingers.

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