We'll see but Miami has perimeter players that can score, and I still say that Denver isn't that good on defense. BAM isn't an AD caliber defender,but he is taller than Rui,and has a little more lateral quickness. The question for me is, who is going to guard Butler? I expect him to eat Brown and KCP up. If friggin D'Angelo had a pulse in that series, we'd be in the Finals IMO. The Nuggets lack of depth might catch up to them in this one, I got Miami in 6.
I personally think Miami has no business winning this Finals. Denver simply looks like the much superior team. Most of the time the ECF looked like a competition to see who was gonna be destroyed by Denver in the Finals. Both Boston and Miami looked so much inferior. Miami has heart though. Jimmy has proven to be the biggest competitor in this league and Spoelstra has to be at least a top 3 coach in the league (I consider him the current best), but I'm not sure how far can that take this Miami team. If Denver somehow loses control of this series for a moment, things could quickly get sour for them because I don't see them having the same mental fortitude Miami has, but I think Denver keeping control of the series and never letting it go is a very likely scenario. While I do think chances are Denver will make quick work of Miami, if the series somehow extends, then Miami will become increasingly more dangerous. I know I'm rooting for Miami here and would really love to see Jimmy winning it all, but if I were to put money, I'd do it for Denver. They're definitely the better team. Let's see if Miami, again, can go against all odds.
I'd like Miami to make a series of it, but realistically I think it's Denver in 5. Their home court advantage it a real one. Miami will be gasping for breath in the second half of game one. I'd prefer Jimmy Buckets to win this, but when I look at those rosters I just don't see how the Heat can defend the Nuggets. Joker and Murray will feast. And they still have KCP, and MPJ to knock down threes, Gordon to attack and Brown off the bench. I don't see Miami stopping them.
Meh..I thought that the East was the better Conference this season. The Nuggets better win game 1 or this will be a short series. How are they going to stop Miami on offense? Jokic is the only clear advantage the Nuggets have IMO. Is he enough? We'll see shortly, the Heat have a lot of perimeter players that have been hitting shots in the playoffs, something we didn't have in that series. I'm glad it didn't work out, but I think Boston would beat Denver too.
Much superior in what way exactly? Miami faced higher seeds all of them healthy, Denver played all lower seeds that weren't at full strength. Where is this great disparity that you see specifically?
For one, Jokic should be the best player on the court during this Finals. On that same regard, Denver is a much better team rebounding the ball, which was already a big problem for Miami in the Boston series. Even worse, failing to get the rebound against Miami means the ball is in the hands of Jokic, which I don't need to compare how dangerous that is in comparison to guys like Horford or Robert Williams, or Gordon, who against us proved how dangerous he can be below the ring thanks to his amazing athletic ability. Denver is also an amazing shooting team. Boston was too, but if shooting isn't going well, we go back to my first point. Denver players have also shown in important moments during their Playoffs run, contrary to what has happened with almost every Miami opponent (except Jalen Brunson). There's no such weakness in Jokic or Murray such as there was with Tatum or Brown with their handles. Denver has also shown to be a powerhouse at their homecourt. The altitude here plays a huge role, but it does seem like they would still be good if Denver was at a regular altitude (this of course is just my opinion). They also have the homecourt advantage, so this is actually kinda huge. Miami has played 4 games in the last 9 days while Denver has been resting, training and probably evaluating their two potential rivals. There's also the fact that in terms of momentum, Miami has actually lost 3 of their last 4 games. We were saved from seeing Boston becoming the first to come back from 0-3 (thank god), but that doesn't take away the fact that Miami did come incredibly close to lose that series. They're not coming here in their best form exactly. While Jimmy has been really good, he's been far from the level he showed in the first round against Milwaukee. While you could stop Boston by stopping their 3 point shooting, I don't think that will fly with Denver, again, because they have Jokic (and Murray is not just a 3 point shooter). Adebayo hasn't been at a great level lately, and he should be key during this series. History still says that regular season does tell part of the story, even if there are exceptions out there. Denver was the best team in the conference and they never really had much competition, they were fairly solid during the whole year, while Miami has only really appeared now during the Playoffs. Denver already swept us, who were a similar story to Miami as a low seeded team that showed their best game during the Playoffs beating a number 2 seed and the defending champs. They didn't give a damn about that. Lebron could barely do anything during the series and while AD had moments, they did a good job on him too. They also relatively convincingly won against a strong Phoenix team with offensive threats such as Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, doing a good job keeping them in check. There's probably more out there. I honestly think Denver should win this with relative ease. But again, as I said, I do think Miami has shown a lot of heart during this Playoffs and I absolutely love Jimmy. I do honestly want Miami to win this, but I think they are the heavy underdogs here, and their best chances come from putting Denver in pressure situations and hoping they don't react well to that, since Miami will likely will.
Freaking Bam outplayed Jokic Davis would average like 60 in the finals. Miami is missing three's like Lakers LOL
Jokic 10 dimes at the the half. Denver is a machine.. I think them and Phoenix and us right behind. We need someone who can iso and get tough baskets late in games. Lebron is longer that guy and Davis isn't a clutch offense guy either. He's best as a cleanup man/lob threat in those situations.
2 FT for the game.Are you f***ing kidding me.It is already in the history books for least amount attempted in playoffs .. Can't imagine what it would be in the media if Lakers played today
