![]() ![]() Denver is hoping the similarities continue. That Spurs win in 1999 was San Antonio's first NBA title and launched an unlikely Western Conference dynasty led by international stars. In total, Denver will face teams with combined seeds of 27 this postseason, the highest for any team in a single postseason since seeding began in 1984, surpassing the 1998-99 Spurs team that coincidentally beat the last 8-seed to make it this far, the Knicks. Yes, teams led by James and Durant are scarier opponents than their seeds suggest, but in terms of regular-season résumés, the Nuggets' playoff pathway has been unique. And while the Heat had to beat the teams with the two best regular-season records to get to the Finals, the Nuggets are the fourth team to reach this stage without facing a team with a win percentage of. The Nuggets have gone 12-3 in the postseason and have yet to face elimination. Meanwhile, Denver entered the Western Conference bracket as the 1-seed, and has looked the part. They're the first 8-seed to reach the Finals in a full 82-game season. The Heat have knocked off the 1-seed, 5-seed and 2-seed in the East, forcing the top teams in their conference to ask hard questions about their coaches and personnel. Miami ended that game on a 15-1 run, then proceeded to win 11 of its first 14 games in the playoffs. These two teams have each traveled strange roads to get here.Īfter losing to the Atlanta Hawks at home in their first play-in game, the Heat trailed their second play-in game with under three minutes remaining against the Chicago Bulls. But Butler doesn't play on paper - just ask the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. On paper, the matchup doesn't look close. The Nuggets had the sixth-best point differential in the league in the regular season, while the Heat were actually outscored by their opponents (they're the third such team to reach the NBA Finals). The oddsmakers appear to be more swayed by Denver's sustainable season-long excellence as opposed to Miami's stunning postseason upsets. Both of those series ended in sweeps via the favorites. The only bigger favorites over the past two decades also matched up against James - the 2018 Warriors who paired Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, and the Spurs who met James in his first trip to the Finals in 2007. The Heat are currently at +300, nearly the same odds they had in the 2020 Finals when they lost the bubble championship in Orlando, Florida, to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite that, it's the Nuggets - making their first Finals appearance - who enter the series as massive favorites.īased on the opening line of -360, Denver would be the third-largest favorite in the Finals over the past 20 seasons. Five of Miami's playoff rotation players - Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love and Duncan Robinson - have previous Finals experience. Miami is making its seventh Finals appearance since 2006, the most in the NBA in that span (Golden State is next with six). ET on ABC), let's take a look at six notable stats and trends that could come to define the 2023 NBA Finals and determine the league's next champion. If Denver wins, the Nuggets will take home the first title in franchise history, joining the San Antonio Spurs as the only former ABA teams to win NBA championships.īefore the series tips off Thursday ( 8:30 p.m. If Miami wins, the Heat will complete arguably the most shocking run in postseason history and become the first 8-seed to win an NBA title. It took a little longer than expected after the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat both took 3-0 leads in the conference finals, but we now have an NBA Finals matchup, and no matter what happens from here, we're days away from seeing history. NBA Finals 2023: The six things you need to know for this epic series You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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