The Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets. Did anyone predict this matchup for the Finals at the beginning of the season? I highly doubt it.
It was more likely to predict the Denver Nuggets, as they have the reigning two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, who’s arguably the best player in the league. Not to mention Denver was the one seed throughout the whole year.
They were atop of the Western Conference, but there were still many skeptics. There were initial doubts before Denver played the Western Conference Favorite Phoenix Suns with Kevin Durant. They finished them in six games. In the Conference Finals people even picked the Lakers to defeat Denver in 7. That didn’t matter either, they brought the brooms out and swept the Lakers to reach their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.
The Miami Heat though? No way we saw this coming. They struggled this year to keep players healthy and having continuity. They even lost a play-in game against the Atlanta Hawks, and were nearly eliminated by the Chicago Bulls before beating them to get the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. They then had to see this years Eastern Conference one-seed and 2021 NBA champions Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.
(Jimmy Butler receiving the Larry Bird Award after the Miami heat defeating the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals)
The Miami Heat are now the 2nd team in NBA history to reach the NBA Finals, joining the 1998–99 New York Knicks squad. There playoff success can be credited to their overall culture. Pat Riley, team executive of the Miami Heat has helped create a standard that has followed from his days as a player and a coach.
The 2023 NBA Finals will be Riley’s 19th Finals appearance, winning one as a player, one as an assistant coach, four as head coach, and two as an executive.
Riley isn’t on the court though, and we have to look at Miami’s head coach Erik Spoelstra. Spoelstra has been the head coach in Miami for fifteen years now, and many regard him as the best coach in the NBA. His ability to read different teams and make key adjustments are the biggest reason why he is so revered.
Jimmy Butler is another key element and the intergral reason why the Miami heat are in the finals for a second time in his four years there. In these playoffs Butler has averaged 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists. This run for Butler as he’s been spectacular, even having a 56 point game against the Buck in game 4 of the first round.
Butler is the top dog, but it would be very remiss not to mention the impact of players like Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent. In the Eastern Conference Finals Martin averaged 19.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He shot an absurd 60% from the field and 49% from 3, nearly winning the Larry Bird MVP award getting 4/9 votes. Gabe Vincent missed game five of the Conference Finals due to an ankle sprain, but he also played with great efficiency. Vincent averaged 15.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists, shooting 48.5% from the field and 51.6% from the three.
This years finals are unexpected but also well welcomed. Two teams with a lot on the line. Nikola Jokić has the opportunity to solidify himself even more as an all-time great, having the potential to win a finals MVP in addition to his already two MVP’s. Jamal Murray will also play a huge role in the Nuggets success as well, being one of the most dynamic scorers in the league, and could even win finals MVP himself.
For the Miami Heat if they win, this could be one of the greatest runs in NBA history. An eighth seed has to win at some point right?
The depth of the Nuggets could be too much for the Heat, but also they could match that as Tyler Herro is set to return in game 3 of the Finals.
If you’re asking for my prediction, all I'll say is go subscribe to my YouTube channel “AJ Russ” for my video to see who I have winning. As an NBA fan though, a seven game NBA Finals would be a dream, because after this are no more hoops until October.
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