NBA

The Denver Nuggets are the 4th team in NBA history to reach the Finals and never face a team with a win percentage of .550 or above in that postseason

Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic

After a dominant regular season, the Denver Nuggets earned the #1 seed in the West playoffs. Nikola Jokic and the rest of his teammates barrelled through the playoff to win the West and make the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance. Media around the league have argued that the Nuggets have had an easy path to the Finals this season. They are the 4th team in NBA history to reach the Finals and never face a team with a win percentage of .550 or above in that postseason. 

Denver’s hardest series was during the West Semi-Finals vs the Phoenix Suns. That is the only team this postseason that has beaten the Nuggets multiple times. The Timberwolves were able to sneak a win in the first round. LeBron James and the Lakers were swept in the Conference Finals.

NBA betting sites have the Denver Nuggets heavily favored at (-480) to win the Finals. While the odds are against the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler is not going to let his team go down without a fight.

The Nuggets will be facing the Heat in the 2023 NBA Finals

In the first round of the playoffs, the Denver Nuggets faced the Minnesota Timberwolves. They took care of business that series and won in five games. Next up were the Phoenix Suns who had beaten the LA Clippers 4-1 in the first round. Phoenix played well in Games 3 and 4, but Nikola Jokic took over Games 5 and 6.

Denver won that series 4-2 and the Suns finished the 2023 postseason with a 6-5 record. Their most-recent opponent was the Lakers in the Conference Finals. Coming into that series, the Lakers were 8-4. They beat the Grizzlies 4-2 in the first round and then beat Golden State 4-2 in the Semi-Finals.

When the Lakers were swept by the Nuggets, they ended the postseason with an 8-8 record. The Nuggets have not faced a ton of adversity this postseason and their road to the Finals has been lighter than some West teams in the past. However, the Miami Heat are not going to just hand the Nuggets a championship. Head coach Erik Spoelstra is going to get his squad ready to take on the Nuggets who are the heavy favorites in this series.