The Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat will open Thursday’s 2023 NBA Finals, a clash of the “firsts” in which the Colorado franchise will fight for the first ring in its 47-year history and the Florida franchise will challenge for the being the first champion to enter the playoffs as the eighth seed.
Chasing the NBA ring in the first Finals in its history. So special is the opportunity for the Denver Nuggets, led by Serbian Nikola Jokic, who are the best in the Western Conference to reach the title series in the regular season after losing just three games in their rounds against the Minnesota Timberwolves (4-1) , the Phoenix Suns (4-2) and the Los Angeles Lakers (4-0 sweep).
Undefeated at home in the playoffs and with the home factor in their favor in these finals, the Nuggets have risen to the best possible version of a huge Nikola Jokic scoring a triple-double in these playoffs: 29.9 points , 13.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists and with great success (3.8% in field goals and 47.4% in triples).
Already recovered from a knee injury that forced him to miss all of last season, Jamal Murray has returned in style to lead Jokic’s companions on this adventure: Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Bruce Brown Jr.
In a playoffs marked by surprises, inconsistent teams, ups and downs in every game, and players appearing and disappearing, the Nuggets coached by Mike Malone were the most consistent, solid, and reliable team.
Plus, they come into this Finale with a clear head and rested legs as they’ve had nine days off since crushing the Lakers.
On the other hand, the Heat, true revelation of the year, landed in Denver with only two days to recover from the East’s epic final against the Boston Celtics and with very little time to acclimate to a factor that could be very important. are in these finals: the altitude, as the city of the Nuggets is located at 1,608 meters above sea level.
However, the Heat has gotten used to flipping the predictions in this postseason, where they reached the Finals after overcoming two rounds of the play-in and knocking out the Milwaukee Bucks (4-1) , the best team in the league. league, the New York Knicks (4-2) and the Celtics (4-3).
The series against Boston ended with a monumental win for the Heat in the TD Garden (104-83), after their rivals came close to a miracle never seen before, coming back from a series after a 0-3 loss.
Jimmy Butler is the absolute leader of the Heat on the court, leading a group of players who, far from NBA superstar status and rosters, perform at the highest level.
These are players who were not picked in the draft, such as Caleb Martin (26 points in Game 7 against the Celtics), Gabe Vincent, Max Strus or Duncan Robinson, who enjoyed moments of glory in this magnificent postseason in Miami.
The unity of the locker room is the great strength of an excellently organized team of trainer Erik Spoelstra, who reached his sixth Final in Miami.
He has two titles to his name, in 2012 and 2013, and established himself as one of the best coaches in the NBA.
The final will be broadcast in more than 200 countries and in 60 different languages starting next Thursday, with the first game at the Ball Arena in Denver.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
