NBA Championship Finals 2023 Preview & Picks
The number one seed Denver Nuggets are headed to their first NBA Finals in franchise history to face an eighth-seeded Miami Heat team who have made it here all the way from the play-in tournament.
The Nuggets are led by two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, while the Heat are led by long-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler who looks to nab Miami their fourth NBA Championship.
Denver just swept Lebron James and the Lakers to reach the finals while the Heat allowed the Celtics to come back from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7 where they were ultimately defeated.
I'm backing the Nuggets to make a fast start and to comfortably defeat the Heat.
Game 1 - Jokic Triple Double + Nuggets to Win
The Nuggets have dominated teams in their series openers. They beat Minnesota by 29, Phoenix by 18, and LA by six.
The Nuggets at home is a nightmare to face. They have gone an astounding 30-18-1 ATS this season. They have the second-best ATS home record. In addition to all that, the Heat just finished a tough seven-game series where they allowed Boston to come back from a 3-0 deficit.
Miami doesn’t have anyone who can slow down Jokic - it won’t go well for Bam Adebayo - while the Nuggets can match up Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Aaron Gordon on Butler.
The other half of this is banking on Jokic to get another triple-double. He had three versus the Lakers, three versus the Suns, and two versus the Timberwolves (just missing a third).
I don’t think Bam Adebayo will be able to match up against Jokic and is going to get steamrolled. Count on Jokic going off in front of the home court fans in Game 1 as he leads Denver to their first Championship.
Game 1 - Denver Nuggets Team Total Over 114.5
As I’ve said this whole article I really think that Denver dominates this Heat team. I think they do it every game and I could really see them winning by double digits in each of a four-game sweep.
In addition to that the Nuggets have blown out every other team in their Game 1 for each round of the NBA Playoffs so far. They have eclipsed that total in seven out of their last 10 games reaching 114 in an eighth.
Take the Nuggets to blow out the Heat in Game 1 easily eclipsing the 114.5 team total currently set by the books. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this go up so jump on it sooner rather than later.
Denver Nuggets To Win Series 4-0
I really think the Nuggets are going to wipe the floor with this eighth-seeded Miami team. Miami not only had to play its way into the actual playoffs through the NBA Play-In Tournament but played five games against the Bucks, six games against the Knicks, and just played seven games against the Celtics.
This Celtics series was especially tough because they were up 3-0 and allowed Boston to tie the series 3-3 to force a game seven. While the Heat ultimately advanced letting that happen is not only exhausting but really disheartening.
The Nuggets are well rested and just swept a Lebron James-led Lakers team that is much better than this Heat team.
In addition to the way the Nuggets dominate as a team, they also have arguably the most dominant player in the NBA with two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
He’s averaged a triple-double in the last two series and just missed it in all three because, in their series against Minnesota, he averaged 26.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Take Denver to sweep the Heat in four games.