The Denver Nuggets have clinched their spot in the NBA Finals after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. The Miami Heat are one win away from advancing.
This is the matchup basketball fans should be excited for. Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics are brand names steeped in tradition, and there is this guy named LeBron James who plays for the Lakers that has been must-see TV for 20 seasons. But that wouldn’t be the best basketball.
Two Best Teams
The Nuggets and Heat have been the two best teams this postseason. The Nuggets are No. 1 in offensive rating, tied for fifth in defensive rating and first in net rating. The Heat are second in offensive rating, tied for fifth in defensive rating and second in net rating.
You have Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, head coach Erik Spoelstra, a roster full of grinders and #HeatCulture against a two-time MVP in Nikola Jokic, an incredible shotmaker in Jamal Murray, a 6-foot-10 scoring machine in Michael Porter Jr., and a deep, talented roster. Barring injury, it should be a six- or seven-game series.
Spoelstra is the best coach remaining in the playoffs and is arguably the best coach in the league. His pragmatic approach will be the toughest looks Jokic will see. It will be a chess match.
The Nuggets have tremendous versatility and can stretch defenses in a way no team can. Certainly no team the Heat have played this postseason.
Hungry For A Title
Both teams are hungry, desperate to win a title and have experienced collective playoff pain. Last season the Heat lost to the Boston Celtics in the conference finals in a tough seven-game series.
Following the defeat Butler said the team will be back and next year will get it done. Well, those were prophetic words, as they are a game away from sweeping those same Celtics and advancing to the NBA Finals.
“Next year we will have enough,” Butler said. “And we will be right back in this situation and we will get it done.”
The Nuggets advanced to the conference finals in 2020 against the Lakers and lost in five games. Jokic ascended in the years since but the team dealt with injuries to Murray and Porter Jr. So while they made the playoffs and had great regular season success, they couldn’t overcome in the playoffs, losing in the conference semifinals.
Coming into this season the Nuggets believed they could be champions, and they are four wins away.
“We’re No. 1 in the West for a reason,” Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said in his Western Conference finals Game 3 postgame presser. “I believed it from the jump that we could win a championship. That was everybody’s mindset. We knew how we could jell together and play together. … We’re the underdogs. We don’t get enough credit for what we do. Like I said, we’re No. 1 in the West for a reason. Not being talked about a lot, we take that personal. We just use that energy, continue to prove everybody wrong.”
The NBA is talent-rich, and there are other great players in the league besides Bron, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Nuggets and Heat have outlasted all those players this postseason.
If you enjoy the game of basketball you will see high quality play on both ends in these NBA Finals with these two teams.
