The road hasn’t been easy but the Miami Heat are representing the Eastern Conference in the 2023 NBA Finals. They defeated the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks in the first round before eliminating the No. 5 seed New York Knicks. After taking a 3-0 lead against the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics in the Easter Conference Finals, Miami lost three in a row before blowing out the Celtics on the road in Game 7.
The road isn’t getting any easier for the Heat, who now have to figure out a way to defeat the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets ran through the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, sweeping them in four games.
While many people in the media have underestimated Denver, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra certainly isn’t. He knows that is a great team that his guys will be going up against who are clicking on all cylinders.
“I don’t know why maybe the mainstream media have kind of slept on Denver,” Spoelstra said. “But when we saw them in the bubble, we thought, all right, this team is going to be doing basically what they’re doing this year, then up until now. We thought this would be a run for a long time. If [Jamal] Murray didn’t get hurt, they probably would have had a couple of Finals berths. That’s how great of a duo they are and a system Mike and his staff have built that really fits.
“I think, we all think, they’re legit, and in some ways, it’s a mirror-image series, not in terms of style but teams that probably have been overlooked, underestimated, built a chip on their shoulder over that. It’s lined up to be a great competition.”
NBA NEWS & FINALS COVERAGE: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets, Jimmy Butler & Miami Heat Updates
Jamal Murray being healthy is certainly helping this team take things to another level. He has been excellent this postseason, averaging 27.7 points, 6.1 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 39.1 minutes per game. His shooting split is an impressive .480/.398/.925 and he scored at least 25 points in every game against the Lakers, including three straight 31+ point performances to start the series.
Slowing Murray down will be important to the Heat’s game plan, but atop their to-do list is neutralizing Nikola Jokic to the best of their abilities. The two-time MVP has been on a warpath this offseason, showcasing night in and night out why he deserved to win the award a third straight season.
“He’s very unique,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday. “He doesn’t really have any noticeable weaknesses in terms of his size, his skill set. He’s one of one in the myriad of ways that he can impact the game and impact winning.”
NBA NEWS & FINALS COVERAGE: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets, Jimmy Butler & Miami Heat Updates
Need Jokic to score the ball? He is more than capable of that, popping off for 53 and 43-point performances this postseason. Take away his shooting opportunities, he is more than happy to play facilitator. Jokic has double-digit assists in nine games this postseason and at least five in every contest.
No matter how you try and defend Jokic, he seems to have a counter to it. So, what are the Heat’s plans to slow him down? According to Jimmy Butler, it will take a total team effort to get the job done.
“Guarding him as a team with all five guys,” Butler said. “He does everything so well, and we’re going to have to be in the gaps, we’re going to have to gang rebound. We can’t have defensive lapses. We’re just going to have to get after it. I think at the end of the day, he’s a major key, as DJ Khaled would say, and we’re going to have to lock in.”
NBA NEWS & FINALS COVERAGE: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets, Jimmy Butler & Miami Heat Updates
This series is certainly an interesting one from an X’s and O’s standpoint. Michael Malone and Spoelstra will go back and forth with their chess match, putting their players in the best position to succeed. That is certainly easier said than done as Jokic and Butler have proven no matter the game plan you devise against them, they can figure out a way to find success against it.
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