The stage is finally set and we have another exciting NBA Finals matchup between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets come in to this series as the heavy favorites but don't underestimate the Heat as they are on arguably the most unprecedented Finals runs ever.
The Heat enter the Finals as only the second eighth seed to ever make the NBA Finals with the first being the New York Knicks in 1999. Their best player in Jimmy Butler has been on a Hall of Fame level playoff run averaging 28.5 points per game. As for the Nuggets, they enter the Finals as one of the best teams all season long and were the first seed in the western conference. 2 time MVP and this year's MVP runner up in Nikola Jokic level of play this season has him already being considered as one of the best big men to ever play the game. He has increased his already outstanding play from the regular season by averaging a near 30 point triple double this postseason.
In the season series, The Nuggets defeated the Heat in two hard fought regular season matchups. Nikola was his usual dominant self averaging 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in the two Nugget wins .I expect Jokic to be even more dominant this series as the Heat like most teams don't have a true answer for him .The leading scorer for the Heat was Tyler Herro who scored in the one game he was able to play as his missed the other due to injury. With Herro returning from his injury possibly as soon as game 3 he could be key factor for this series.
Key individual matchups for this season has to start in the front court as the 4-time All-Defense and 2-time All-Star center in Bam Adebayo will face the toughest matchup of his playoff career. The battle of the two centers will certainly play a huge role in this series as Bam will be need be tasked with attempting to slow down Jokic. The best way to do so will likely be for Bam to aggressive on the offensive end to try to ware Jokic down as the game goes on.
Another possibly underrated but interesting matchup will be between both teams starting forwards in Caleb Martin and Michael Porter Jr. Martin has been a major surprise for the Heat as the former undrafted forward as turned himself into a playoff star and at times was the best player on the floor in conference finals. Martin will need to continue to play at a high level for the Heat to win this series but he could have his hands full against the Nuggets talented young star in Porter jr. Like Martin, Porter Jr has been the third leading scorer for this team in the postseason and a major x factor especially when he is able to space the floor with his 40.8% three point shooting.
This particular Finals matchup is special primarily from the stand point that it gives NBA fans something we don't see often which is a team potentially winning their first ever NBA title. Both teams can be defined in near polar opposite ways as Nuggets appear to be a team of destiny while the Heat are defying the odds by unapologetically silencing their doubters with every win. Both teams have leaders on the court in Jokic and Butler who have overcome a lot to achieve their level of greatness and are focused on guiding their team to the ultimate prize. However, only one team can win and I'm picking the Nuggets to win in 6 games to capture their first title in franchise history and Jokic winning Finals MVP.
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