What the Miami Heat need to handle against Nikola Jokic & the Denver Nuggets

The Miami Heat will face off against the 22-9 Denver Nuggets on Monday night, who will be without three starters in Cam Johnson, Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon. The Heat, meanwhile, remain without the servicees of Tyler Herro, but Bam Adebayo is now listed as probable after missing the last two games.

Here are some things the Heat will need to watch out for if they want to come out on the other side of this game with an unexpected win.

Tupperware: The Heat will need to continue playing high-quality, mistake-free defense against the league's best offense, by far, (124 offensive rating, second place is at 121). Even with the guys they're missing, as everyone knows, the Nuggets run through Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

Fortunately for the Heat, Adebayo potentially making his return to the lineup is a massive addition in this aspect. Although nobody really does a great job defending Jokic, Adebayo has done a good job of making him work in the past. Davion Mitchell, Dru Smith, Andrew Wiggins and Pelle Larsson, on the other hand, will do their parts in fighting over (and switching) screens, guarding Murray and the Nuggets' wings.

To stress the importance of this task, let's go over just how good the Nuggets are on offense. They shoot threes at the highest percentage in the league, the second-best percentage in the mid-range and the ninth-best percentage at the rim, while getting to the free throw line at the tenth-best rate in the NBA.

The Nuggets have a balanced shot profile, meaning the Heat will have to be wary of how they defend the gaps in this game against the all-time playmaking talent that Jokic brings. Additionally, it will be interesting to see how often they are willing to switch and swarm against Jokic-led actions.

Another important factor: the Nuggets don't turn the ball over, sporting the third-best turnover percentage in the league, and forcing turnovers has been a huge part of the Heat's resurgence over the past two games.

Middle Management: The Heat will need to take advantage of the oft-forgotten spot on the floor for them, the long mid-range area, as the Nuggets give up the highest percentage of opponent shot attempts there.

Additionally, they seem to have somewhat of a soft spot in the short mid-range, giving up the ninth-highest percentage of conversions there, an area where the Heat have particularly struggled lately.

One of the Heat's biggest strengths in their past two games has been their insane volume of shots at the rim. The Nuggets, however, don't give up too many looks by the basket, but opponents do convert at the third-highest percentage against them once they get there.

The Heat have been a strong offensive rebounding team lately, but this matchup will be a real test in that aspect, with the Nuggets' fifth-best defensive rebound percentage serving as the last big hurdle in this matchup.

It will be intriguing to see if Erik Spoelstra continues to start the surging Kel'el Ware, who has been their most effective offensive rebounder, with Adebayo potentially back in the fold and Pelle Larsson playing very well as a starter.

For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket

What the Miami Heat need to handle against Nikola Jokic & the Denver Nuggets

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For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket