NBA Finals Preview: Nuggets vs Heat
Lead Sports Editor Will Lyons gives an in-depth look at the NBA Finals match=up between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat.
Nuggets Outlook
The Denver Nuggets have reached the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. The balanced roster led by 2-time MVP Nikola Jokic and dynamic scoring guard Jamal Murray made quick work of the Western conference playoff teams. Denver continued rolling on all cylinders eliminating the Timberwolves, Suns and Lakers. Denver was only expected to win the series against Minnesota before quickly sending multiple All-NBA talents home.
The Nuggets have shooting all over the roster and flat out scoring with anybody, add in the unguardable Jokic, and you can see why Miami has a tall task ahead of them. The Joker broke NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain’s long-time record of 7 triple doubles in a single playoff run and is averaging a dominant 29.9 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 10.3 APG. Former Kentucky star Jamal Murray is finally healthy and returned to his NBA Bubble form. He is averaging 27.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG and 6.1 APG and completely eviscerated the Los Angeles Lakers defense.
X-Factor — Bruce Brown
The versatile swingman provides athleticism, scoring pop and some playmaking to an already dangerous Nuggets team. Brown showcased his game in Brooklyn but his game has soared to new heights since joining the Nuggets.
Heat Outlook
The Miami Heat are in the midst of one of the more memorable playoff runs in recent memory. They are the NBA equivalent of a Cinderella team in NCAA March Madness. Only Heat fans will tell you they thought their team would make it this far and even some of them would be lying. Jimmy Butler has turned in stellar performance after stellar performance dragging his team to the Finals with averages of 28.5 PPG, 7 RPG, 5.7 APG. Miami has multiple undrafted players on the team, and they have been phenomenal. Duncan Robinson rediscovered his shooting touch and guards Max Strus and Gabe Vincent are gamers that just find ways to contribute. Caleb Martin the undrafted G/F out of Nevada, went from fighting for a spot in the league to being on the brink of a large payday this off-season after upping his averages to 14.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.7 APG in the post-season.
Heat stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo will have to turn in all time performances if they have any chance of beating Denver. I believe we know what to expect from Jimmy Buckets but Bam can be a wildcard as far as production goes. One potential bright spot for Miami, the expected return of guard Tyler Herro. Before going down with a broken hand, he averaged 20.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 4.2 APG.
X-Factor — Bam Adebayo
An NBA All-Star is rarely considered an X-factor, but Bam’s success against the Joker will be one of the larger determining factors of Miami’s title chances. He has to be able to take Jokic out of his usual composed approach to the game and disrupt his scoring, rebounding and playmaking. On top of that, he has to attack the Joker when Miami is on offense to attempt to tire him out. The mid-range and close-range opportunities that present themselves to Bam will be major and he cannot play like a shell of himself, like he did when Boston came back from being down 3–0. Miami needs Bam to reach or exceed his regular season numbers of 14.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.7 APG to make it a fair fight.
NBA Finals Game Schedule
GM 1 Thursday, June 1st @ 8:30 PM EST (Denver)
GM 2 Sunday, June 4th @ 8PM EST (Denver)
GM 3 Wednesday, June 7th @ 8:30 PM EST (Miami)
GM 4 Friday, June 9th @ 8:30 PM EST (Miami)
* GM 5 Monday, June 12th @ 8:30 EST (Denver)
*GM 6 Thursday, June 15th @ 8:30 PM EST (Miami)
*GM 7 Sunday, June 18th @ 8 PM EST (Denver)
Games 5–7 Depend upon outcome of games through 1–4. (*) And Cities in parentheses are locations of Finals games.
