Tonight, the NBA Finals will begin in Denver, Colorado. Overall, it is set to be a matchup between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat. These two teams have taken many different routes to get to the NBA Finals. Firstly, you have the Denver Nuggets who were the best team in the West all season and secured the first seed. Secondly, you have the Heat, who were five minutes away from not even making it to the NBA Playoffs. As an eighth seed, they made the Finals, which is simply unfathomable.
Going into this series, there is a very obvious favorite, and for good reason. If these two teams were in the same conference, they would have played one another in the first round. Although, to completely write off the Heat would be a huge mistake. They boast the talents of Jimmy Butler, who has been phenomenal in the playoffs. According to ESPN, he has averaged 28.5 points per game in the postseason. Moreover, the team also has Bam Adebayo, Caleb Martin, and Duncan Robinson, who have all played their role extremely well.
That said, the Denver Nuggets have the man who should have won MVP this season, Nikola Jokic. As ESPN reports, Jokic is averaging a triple-double in the playoffs. Not to mention, players like Jamal Murray, Bruce Brown, and Michael Porter Jr. have all been lights out. Furthermore, you can’t forget to mention Aaron Gordon, who has kicked it up a notch this season. Overall, the Nuggets are just a complete team. They have systematically decimated all of their opponents, including the Lakers, who they beat in a sweep. One could make the argument that they are currently playing their best basketball of the entire season.
An NBA Finals To Remember
With all of this being said, the question remains: who is going to win it all? Ultimately, this is where the Miami Heat Cinderella run comes to an end. Sure, Jimmy Butler has carried the Heat, but if the Celtics series proved anything, it’s that they have glaring weaknesses that the Nuggets can exploit. Moreover, Jokic had Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, and Deandre Ayton in hell in the first three rounds. Simply put, there is no way Adebayo has any shot of stopping him. Jokic will feast in the paint all series long, all while kicking the ball out to shooters like MPJ and Murray. It could get ugly very fast if the Heat go cold from beyond the arc.
Overall, it seems as though this series is destined to be short. The Heat will win one game in Miami, but the Nuggets should be able to handle their business with ease. That said, the Nuggets will be taking home the Larry O’Brien trophy in five games, and they will do so on their home court. For Nikola Jokic, it will be career-defining. For Jimmy Butler, it will just be more bulletin board material for next year.
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