The 2023 NBA Finals are set, with the Denver Nuggets facing the Miami Heat to decide who will raise The Larry O’Brien Trophy. If you’d asked every NBA fan before the season what the finals would look like, very few, if any at all, would’ve told you this. But stars are going to win their first ring, that’s a guarantee. Whether it’ll be Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and company, or Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and their squad is still undetermined. Both franchises have had very (and I mean VERY) different paths to get to where they are now, and it’s sure to be an entertaining series.
Road to the finals: Denver Nuggets
We’ll start with this season’s Western Conference champions, with that being the Denver Nuggets. The team finished the season as the number one seed out West, but many doubted their ability in the postseason. Fast forward to now, and they have fairly comfortably cruised their way through the first three rounds, making it to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
The first round saw them face the Minnesota Timberwolves, and if the series had gone on for any longer than the five games it did, it would’ve been disappointing. Their second round opponent was the Phoenix Suns who, of course, acquired Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade midway through the season.
When this trade was completed, many saw the Suns as the team to beat in the West, and they immediately became a true championship contender. But what if your best player averages 34.5 points, 13.2 rebounds and 10.3 assists and becomes an unstoppable force? Step forward Nikola Jokic, who put up these quite frankly absurd numbers to lead Denver to the conference finals, and past KD and Devin Booker in six games.
The only thing that stood in the way from their first NBA finals appearances was LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, a repeat of the ‘Bubble’ back in 2020. The Lakers making the WCF was quite an accomplishment considering where they stood heading into the All-Star break, but multiple trades catapulted their play and secured them a play-in spot. Many said that, if the Lakers ended up getting the 8th seed and had faced the Nuggets in the first-round, that there was a legitimate chance of an upset. This was the chance that they could prove it.
If a team is to have a shot at a championship, then they can’t just rely on their best player. But when your second option steps up like Jamal Murray did in this series, then it becomes easier for the team to play at an elite level. Not only did he average 32.5 points, but he did it on 52.7/40.5/95% splits. Jokic also averaged yet another triple-double, and also passed Wilt Chamberlain for the most triple-doubles in a single postseason. He has eight so far, and there’s still a minimum of four games to play.
Because they wrapped this series up so quickly with a sweep, they’ve had plenty of time to recharge and prepare for what’s to come. However, we can’t say the same about their opponent.
Road to the finals: Miami Heat
Moving onto the Eastern Conference champions, and a quite incredible run to the NBA finals for the Miami Heat. Unlike Denver who finished top of their conference, Miami had to go through the play-in tournament to even secure their spot in the playoffs, and after losing to the Hawks in the 7-8 match-up, they had to beat the Bulls or their season was over. They did, and have now become only the second ever eighth seed in NBA history to make it to the finals. They also did it without the help of both Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo, who have both been sidelined with injury this postseason, although Herro is reportedly expected to return during this series.
Their first-round match-up was against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, who of course won the championship in 2021. Many thought they were going to fairly comfortably make it to at least the conference finals, but the Heat had other ideas. It took them just five games to dispatch of the team with the best record in the NBA, and that was mainly thanks to the greatness of Jimmy Butler.
There’s been a conspiracy going around for a while now, in regards to how Jimmy Butler could possibly be the son of Michael Jordan, and based on this series, those rumours could well be true. 37.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game is quite remarkable, and it included a 56 point outburst in game four, and 42 points to close the series.
The second round saw them go up against the Knicks, and whilst Jalen Brunson produced some stellar play for New York, the all-around play from the Heat saw them win in six games. Miami had six players average double figures in this series, and three of those went undrafted.
Undrafted players continued to be the theme of discussion in the Eastern Conference Finals, where the Heat matched up against the Boston Celtics. Like out West, this was a repeat of the 2020 NBA ‘Bubble’, and it was also a repeat of the ECF from last season.
The Heat won the first three games, two of which were in Boston, and the series seemed to be wrapped up. However, after Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown said, “Don’t let us get one,” the C’s went on to win three straight, which included a buzzer-beating tip-in from Derrick White in game six. Teams were 150-0 when leading a series 3-0, but could the Celtics make history and become the first time to complete the comeback? The short answer is no, but Boston certainly showed fight to be on the brink of history.
Out of the nine players that played 10+ minutes per game in this series, five of them did not get drafted, which only makes the run more remarkable. Out of these players, none shined brighter than Caleb Martin. His story is quite remarkable, and Heat fans will have him (and rapper J Cole) to thank.
Martin’s stellar play gave him a genuine case to be named Eastern Conference Finals MVP, and although the voting ended up 5-4 in favour of Jimmy Butler, the Heat would not have won this series without Martin. His averages of 19.3 points and 6.4 rebounds and shooting splits of 60.2% from the field and a ridiculous 48.9% from three have seen his stock rise dramatically, and it proves that if you stay ready, your moment will come.
How do the teams match up?
The Nuggets have dominated the Heat head-to-head over the last few years, winning nine of the last ten encounters between the sides, and both games this season, although one of these saw both teams missing key pieces.
The main talking point is how the Heat are going to deal with Jokic. Whilst Bam Adebayo is an elite defender and made his fourth consecutive All-Defensive Second Team this season, it’s still going to be a tough task stopping an offensive juggernaut like Jokic. When you also realise that Jokic has a couple of inches and about 30 pounds on his primary defender, tough task seems to become more and more of an understatement.
It’s also very dependent on what version of Jimmy Butler we see. If we see the version from the Bucks series, then the Heat have every shot of winning this series, but if we see the Butler we saw against the Celtics, then it may be too much to ask. The Nuggets also have a lot more options for defending Butler than the Heat do for Jokic, and Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are all likely to have that assignment throughout the series.
It’s not just the stars that need to step up. Miami is going to need big production from their undrafted guys, with Caleb Martin, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Duncan Robinson all needing to step up and provide scoring and three-point shooting. Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry also have championship pedigree, so will be crucial veterans and steady the ship if things take a turn for the worse.
On the other side, the Nuggets won’t be able to just rely on their two stars. Both Michael Porter Jr and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope shot the ball brilliantly from downtown against the Lakers, and those two alongside Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown all averaged between 12 and 15 points per game in that series. Denver is going to need this scoring to continue, and if the stars are struggling for either side, then some of these guys are going to need to shine bright on the biggest stage of them all.
Of course, the Denver Nuggets have home-court advantage, and are 8-0 at home in the playoffs this season, which could prove pivotal in this series. Ultimately, this isn’t going to phase Miami, because all they’ve done this season is prove people wrong. The Nuggets have also had a considerable amount of rest compared to the Heat, but this doesn’t necessarily give them an advantage, and some would say the Heat could be better off and more game ready due to them only just finishing up their series with Boston. Of course, these are all questions that will be answered in due time, and it’s sure to be an entertaining series to cap off another great NBA season.
JakeWJourno 
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