2024 NBA Season

[btc_angela]

Heat pull-off to kick-out Celtics and reach NBA finals, while Denver is probably most happier with this, and they are pretty close to first title
didn't even considered possibility for Heat to win game 7, but they won it with style, and Celtics didn't show anything, pity they won three in a row, and made things interesting, while not being able to make game 7 interesting to watch

onwards to finals, could be a sweep, but no more than 6 matches, IMO, Denver to title

It could be a tough match-up for the Denver, Bam vs Jokic will be the one that I want to see. And then we have the trio of undrafted players in Caleb Martin, Mas Struss and Gabe Vincent maybe playing Jamay Murray.

I don't see a sweep though, Denver might win their first NBA title, but it might be 4-2.

And I think majority see Denver winning?

I definitely see Denver winning. Bam has his work cut out for him with Jokic and I think it will be a good example of solid fundamentals versus freak athleticism. The difference to me between Denver and all the other teams in the league is MPJ and Ben Gordon on the wings. They’re both so athletic and can shoot the ball, it’s almost unfair that they are both on the same team.

Yeah, just what I thought, true, Bam is athletic but Jokic is complete center. Lots of move that might throw off Bam and put him in the spin cycle. Porter Jr is also another freak player, but it's just he is so inconsistent, but he will be taller and faster against the trio that I mentioned so he has all the advantage, same as Jamal Murray.

Heat is now 4:1 underdog in game 1. I know that there are going to be a lot of bettors who are going to see this odds as very attractive. But it's hard to bet against the Denver Nuggets on game 1.

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[el kaka22]

I think Miami is a different type of team, it is not really that easy to decide how they are going to go. I do agree that they are going to be on the heel, Nuggets is a better team but this team wasn't even in the playoffs, they were at play-in tournament and then joined as 8th seed and then managed to be at the finals.

That's usually not something we see, so it is normal that we see them as underdogs here and Nuggets as the potential winners but that was the case for every single series they played so far, they have been the underdogs on every single series and yet they managed to win. I still think Nuggets will win, Jokic is just on a whole another level but that doesn't mean that Miami will give up without a fight neither, they may win.

[tabas]

I guess that there should be an assigned guy that will defend against Joker and that might be these big guys, Love and Adebayo. Or even not as big as these two but those athletic guys that can at least delay or stop Joker wherever he goes especially outside the perimeter. I have my respect to Heat and they've been into the finals for many times while the Denver Nuggets, even if this is the first time that they're in still look at how people are respecting them as well for thinking that this is going to be easy for them.

It's worth noting that Coach Spo doesn't use Love much. Based on stats, Love has averaged 15-20 minutes on the court in previous playoff games, and he didn't play at all in the last two games against the Celtics. So I think either Adebayo will mostly defend against Jokic, or the Heat will use zone defense. In any case, the Heat should find some way to stop Jokic. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for them to beat the Nuggets.

We'll see if he'll be used this much or not, there's no other player that we can think of stopping Jokic. Unless they really have a good plan or zone defense just for Jokic, they shouldn't forget that it is not only him that they need to focus with if it's outside shooting because there's also Murray plus the other bench players that Michael Malone is just keeping for this very finals. Maybe the same goes for Love that Spo is just keeping him and he might be of use to it. One more day before the happens and everyone is just so excited to watch the very first NBA finals game of the Nuggets.

[Kasabus]

Miami heat vs Denver nuggets it will be a good matchup as we all know that both teams are strong enough to prove themselves that they are worthy of That trophy. and the most favorate here is the Denver nuggets as we all know how they play they are too strong that Even Lakers can not compete them. But Miami heat and their star Jimmy Butler want to compete nuggets even they have small lineup than nuggets but still they have a chance to win. And in game 1 we can predict what happen next.

Game 1 may provide us with an indication of what could transpire in the series, but the Nuggets must exercise caution, as the Miami Heat have shown proficiency in snatching victories on the road. In fact, they defeated the Celtics three times on their home court during the Eastern Conference Finals, implying that they could replicate this feat against the Nuggets. Their objective is to secure at least one win on the road to gain a home court advantage, ideally in either Game 1 or Game 2.

It will be a battle between who is more dominant in-terms of defense and who can stop the duo of both teams, either the Heat or the Nuggets, if they can be able to do it impressively then we may have an idea who will likely win in this season's NBA Finals. But it will be a rough road for both teams for sure as they know that stopping each other will not be an easy path. Having said that, I think a sweep impossible in this phase.

[Distinctin]

How do you guys see game 1? It will be interesting to see the battle of strategies in this series. I'm thinking coach Spo will try to focus the defense on Murray and the supporting players. He knows they can't stop Jokic no matter who he puts to guard him so may as well let him take all the shots to tire him out as early as possible.

Tough to say on who will get the 1st game in their favor, but coach Spo will probably let Bam Adebayo handle Nikola Jokic in the first two games as they both have the same position and see if Bam can really handle the foe's big man.
Regarding about the team's defensive prowess, I'll take the Miami Heat as the advanced defenders as I see the Nuggets as more on offensive. It would be a different style in their upcoming games though but later on, their fortes will be revealed once again as they will use what their strengths is. This will be interesting.

[blockman]

How do you guys see game 1? It will be interesting to see the battle of strategies in this series.

I have seen a stat history for both Heat and Nuggets, it's said that Heat never won against the Nuggets in their respective playoff matches.

I'm thinking coach Spo will try to focus the defense on Murray and the supporting players. He knows they can't stop Jokic no matter who he puts to guard him so may as well let him take all the shots to tire him out as early as possible.

And with that I think that aside from Nuggets core players, there will be the other players that will shine on this and that's probably a deadly game that some players might step up that haven't been seen yet during the WCF and the playoffs.

[Texac]

How do you guys see game 1? It will be interesting to see the battle of strategies in this series. I'm thinking coach Spo will try to focus the defense on Murray and the supporting players. He knows they can't stop Jokic no matter who he puts to guard him so may as well let him take all the shots to tire him out as early as possible.

For the whole series, I believe it will be dominated by Nuggets.
For the game 1, Nuggets probably already formulated strats against Heat since they (Heat) just came from a 7-game series.
Initially, I think this year is Nuggets'. But who knows what Heat can do.

On paper, it does look like the Denver Nuggets are going to beat the Miami Heat. It is also true that the Miami Heat had to go through a long process to get to the finals. But the Denver Nuggets did not have to face any problem like that. Yes, the Miami Heat should not be able to win against the Denver Nuggets. But the way Miami Heat has performed recently no one knows what actually can happen. There might be surprises because Miami Heat has been very unpredictable.

[wheelz1200]

How do you guys see game 1? It will be interesting to see the battle of strategies in this series. I'm thinking coach Spo will try to focus the defense on Murray and the supporting players. He knows they can't stop Jokic no matter who he puts to guard him so may as well let him take all the shots to tire him out as early as possible.

Tough to say on who will get the 1st game in their favor, but coach Spo will probably let Bam Adebayo handle Nikola Jokic in the first two games as they both have the same position and see if Bam can really handle the foe's big man.
Regarding about the team's defensive prowess, I'll take the Miami Heat as the advanced defenders as I see the Nuggets as more on offensive. It would be a different style in their upcoming games though but later on, their fortes will be revealed once again as they will use what their strengths is. This will be interesting.

It will be interesting but since jokic plays up high bam is going to be neutralized.  He isn't going to be able to hang with jokic.  Miami should just understand jokic will get his they need to limit role players like Porter Jr and Bruce brown.  I know people have unslderestimated the Heat but Denver is a different animal.

[harizen]

But the Denver Nuggets did not have to face any problem like that.

It seems that you treat Denver Nuggets reaching the Finals as a simple cakewalk and never face any big problems.

Might be right for you if you didn't recognize the strength of the teams they face in the playoffs but generally, Nuggets look like they didn't go through a hard process because simply, they worked hard for it. They didn't face an easy opponent, especially the healthy Phoenix Suns with Kevin Durant on board and that team was considered the team to beat in the Western Conference prior to the playoffs.

There might be surprises because Miami Heat has been very unpredictable.

Somehow, I have to agree with you there. Miami Heat's journey to the NBA Finals this year is really remarkable starting from the play-in tournament, playoffs, and now finally, NBA Finals. The last time an 8th seeded-team reach the NBA Finals was way back in 1998-99, which was the New York Knicks.

Beating the No. 1 Seed Milwaukee Bucks in the First Round, the No. 5 Seed New York Knicks in the Conference Semi-Finals, and beating the No. 2 Seed Boston Celtics in the Conference Finals, the 8th seed Miami Heat is really unpredictable.

[ChiBitCTy]

How do you guys see game 1? It will be interesting to see the battle of strategies in this series. I'm thinking coach Spo will try to focus the defense on Murray and the supporting players. He knows they can't stop Jokic no matter who he puts to guard him so may as well let him take all the shots to tire him out as early as possible.

Tough to say on who will get the 1st game in their favor, but coach Spo will probably let Bam Adebayo handle Nikola Jokic in the first two games as they both have the same position and see if Bam can really handle the foe's big man.
Regarding about the team's defensive prowess, I'll take the Miami Heat as the advanced defenders as I see the Nuggets as more on offensive. It would be a different style in their upcoming games though but later on, their fortes will be revealed once again as they will use what their strengths is. This will be interesting.

It will be interesting but since jokic plays up high bam is going to be neutralized.  He isn't going to be able to hang with jokic.  Miami should just understand jokic will get his they need to limit role players like Porter Jr and Bruce brown.  I know people have unslderestimated the Heat but Denver is a different animal.

Yeah you're exactly right, there isn't going to be any way to stop Jokic, but you've got to do your best to just limit him as much as possible and force the rest of the team to score as much as possible, which of course is no easy task.

I certainly underestimated the Heat going in to these playoffs.  I would have never guessed that they would have come this far.  So yeah it's a bit of the same just writing them off, but I can't see them winning more than a game or two.

[goinmerry]

Yeah you're exactly right, there isn't going to be any way to stop Jokic, but you've got to do your best to just limit him as much as possible and force the rest of the team to score as much as possible, which of course is no easy task.

Bam Adebayo is now surely preparing well for their face-off with Nikola Jokic. But as far as Jokic is concerned, you can't really just put a single guy here to stop him always as he can shoot anywhere, either on the paint, perimeter, and on the 3-point area. Adebayo might be able to protect the paint but the question is, who will defend Jokic outside the shaded area? Butler or Robinson might do the job.

Another one that might give Nikola Jokic a good defense is Caleb Martin who is a big factor for the Miami Heat in their entire playoffs series. Martin's contribution on both offense and defense give the Heat an edge over any teams they faced this playoffs.

We are only just talking about how to give Nikola Jokic a good defense here but the Nuggets have plenty of threats for the Miami Heat even if they were able to minimize The Joker's contribution. This is a tough match for Coach Spoelstra and the whole Miami Heat.

[passwordnow]

I think Miami is a different type of team, it is not really that easy to decide how they are going to go. I do agree that they are going to be on the heel, Nuggets is a better team but this team wasn't even in the playoffs, they were at play-in tournament and then joined as 8th seed and then managed to be at the finals.

It's like they're an orthodox team. It's true that their plays are unpredictable but just like the Heat, the same goes for the Nuggets. Mostly, it's not that important anymore whey they came from but these two teams are the remaining teams and this is the NBA finals.
Strategies of how these coaches form a defense and offense plays will be seen by tomorrow and how they will manage to stop each others best players but I think, no matter how they stop each other, we'll see the unstoppable outside shooting.

[MK-74]

I don't think there are many players who can keep Jokic. I don't think Bam Adebayo can defend Jokic.
Denver Nuggets will be champions this year.
I think the series will end 4-2 or 4-1.

4-1 is my prediction.
Well, Anthony Davis is a good defender with his 2 blocks per game, maybe better than Bam so they will really have to find a way to stop that monster Joker. I think one way of cutting the offense of the Nuggets is to double him but we saw how bad Murray could be if he will be left alone.
Miami Heat should be careful with switches. If Jokic finds a way to dispose of Bam on his side then it could be a sure deuce for the Nuggets.
I am not underestimating the Miami Heat defense because we saw them locked in in games 1 to 3 and then in game 7. But when the Nuggets play at a high defensive level, they are also not to be underestimated.

Boston Celtics were so bad in Game 7, I think there was not much need for the Miami Heat defense.
I agree with the other things you said.

It's not going to be an easy series for the Denver Nuggets, but they will win.
I don't think the Miami Heat can block Jokic. Maybe they can block 1 or 2 games.mes.

[LogitechMouse]

How do you guys see game 1? It will be interesting to see the battle of strategies in this series. I'm thinking coach Spo will try to focus the defense on Murray and the supporting players. He knows they can't stop Jokic no matter who he puts to guard him so may as well let him take all the shots to tire him out as early as possible.

Denver will win in Game 1. That's my prediction.

Both Coach Spo, and Coach Malone are long time coaches in their respective teams especially Coach Spo, and we know how good of a tactician, and how good he analyzes everything in the court. Coach Spo might have an advantage over Coach Malone here in terms of experience, but Coach Malone has better players.

I don't expect too much in Game 1 because they will just show their strategies on that game. Game 2 would be better because there will be a big of adjustments in both teams, and with that we will see who is the better team in terms of adjustments for their opposing team. I also wonder who will guard Jokic most of the time. Like I said in my previous posts, Bam will be having a hard time guarding him, and when the Heat try to double him, Jokic can easily see the open player to shoot threes. I guess better rotation might be the answer, but let's see how will it goes.

[Natalim]

I don't expect too much in Game 1 because they will just show their strategies on that game.

Please do because game 1 is very important for a game 7 series in the NBA Finals.
According to the statistics ;

People love to say that a series doesn't start until the road team wins, but that's simply not true. One could argue, in fact, that most series are over after Game 1. Over the entire course of NBA playoff history, Game 1 winners go on to win the series 75 percent of the time (453-149). So far this postseason, 11 of 14 Game 1 winners have gone on to win the series. It's a huge game.

So if we will see that stats, a team that wins game 1 has 75% chance of winning the series, that's why it's very important to win in game 1. Well, obviously, people think that Nuggets will win game 1 as they are still unbeatable at home in the postseason so far.

[Hypnosis00]

So if we will see that stats, a team that wins game 1 has 75% chance of winning the series, that's why it's very important to win in game 1. Well, obviously, people think that Nuggets will win game 1 as they are still unbeatable at home in the postseason so far.

That's a very interesting statistic; it highlights the significance of Game 1. Since the Nuggets have home-court advantage, they need to ensure a victory in Game 1. Otherwise, the Miami Heat might once again come from behind and win the series to become the NBA Champions.

Another noteworthy statistic is that if I'm not mistaken, the Miami Heat have won every Game 1 in each series, from the first round to the Eastern Conference Finals.

[danherbias07]

I think Miami is a different type of team, it is not really that easy to decide how they are going to go. I do agree that they are going to be on the heel, Nuggets is a better team but this team wasn't even in the playoffs, they were at play-in tournament and then joined as 8th seed and then managed to be at the finals.

That's usually not something we see, so it is normal that we see them as underdogs here and Nuggets as the potential winners but that was the case for every single series they played so far, they have been the underdogs on every single series and yet they managed to win. I still think Nuggets will win, Jokic is just on a whole another level but that doesn't mean that Miami will give up without a fight neither, they may win.

You have a point. But, they are playing the East, while the West is a tough path to take. The Nuggets defeated the Suns with KD and Booker, and the Lakers with Lebron and AD. Although we could say the Miami Heat defeated the number 1 Bucks, I am really in doubt about how they played this year with Middleton, not in his usual consistency in the offensive area.
I think it's just a good match, the battle of defense might be the deciding point on who will win this series. Coach Mike Malone said it a lot of times, whenever the Nuggets play tough defense they become a better team.
Crossing my fingers for injuries, I don't want to see one, and I wish Tyler Herro's return will be as early as possible to give us a more entertaining game.
That may also be the key for the Miami Heat to win this series, a deeper player rotation.

[Yaunfitda]

I think Miami is a different type of team, it is not really that easy to decide how they are going to go. I do agree that they are going to be on the heel, Nuggets is a better team but this team wasn't even in the playoffs, they were at play-in tournament and then joined as 8th seed and then managed to be at the finals.

That's usually not something we see, so it is normal that we see them as underdogs here and Nuggets as the potential winners but that was the case for every single series they played so far, they have been the underdogs on every single series and yet they managed to win. I still think Nuggets will win, Jokic is just on a whole another level but that doesn't mean that Miami will give up without a fight neither, they may win.

You have a point. But, they are playing the East, while the West is a tough path to take. The Nuggets defeated the Suns with KD and Booker, and the Lakers with Lebron and AD. Although we could say the Miami Heat defeated the number 1 Bucks, I am really in doubt about how they played this year with Middleton, not in his usual consistency in the offensive area.
I think it's just a good match, the battle of defense might be the deciding point on who will win this series. Coach Mike Malone said it a lot of times, whenever the Nuggets play tough defense they become a better team.
Crossing my fingers for injuries, I don't want to see one, and I wish Tyler Herro's return will be as early as possible to give us a more entertaining game.
That may also be the key for the Miami Heat to win this series, a deeper player rotation.

I think it did good for them for Herro to be out, (not saying that we've wished he is injured), but his team has step up without him. Even Duncan Robinson has been inserted in the roster again. Duncan was the first option tough before Herro became one of their deadliest shooters. But the good thing is that Duncan embraces his role again and I think he is vital to their winning and going to the finals. So we will see how the first game will be, others is beating that the Nuggets will take game one and I'm with them.

[btc_angela]

How do you guys see game 1? It will be interesting to see the battle of strategies in this series. I'm thinking coach Spo will try to focus the defense on Murray and the supporting players. He knows they can't stop Jokic no matter who he puts to guard him so may as well let him take all the shots to tire him out as early as possible.

For the whole series, I believe it will be dominated by Nuggets.
For the game 1, Nuggets probably already formulated strats against Heat since they (Heat) just came from a 7-game series.
Initially, I think this year is Nuggets'. But who knows what Heat can do.

On paper, it does look like the Denver Nuggets are going to beat the Miami Heat. It is also true that the Miami Heat had to go through a long process to get to the finals. But the Denver Nuggets did not have to face any problem like that. Yes, the Miami Heat should not be able to win against the Denver Nuggets. But the way Miami Heat has performed recently no one knows what actually can happen. There might be surprises because Miami Heat has been very unpredictable.

The Nuggets has also to fight to where they are right now, so not easy task for them. Although they sweep the Lakers, again, very hard fought series as they have to face Lebron and Davis who just knockout the defending champions in Warriors.

Of course the style of play is very different from two conference. Nevertheless, they have the same goal of winning an NBA ring. For the Nuggets it will be sweet because this could be their first time raising the NBA trophy. So it's not going to be very easy to win this trophy, but as others have been predicting, it will be Nuggets in 6 games.

[Texac]

But the Denver Nuggets did not have to face any problem like that.

It seems that you treat Denver Nuggets reaching the Finals as a simple cakewalk and never face any big problems.
Might be right for you if you didn't recognize the strength of the teams they face in the playoffs but generally, Nuggets look like they didn't go through a hard process because simply, they worked hard for it. They didn't face an easy opponent, especially the healthy Phoenix Suns with Kevin Durant on board and that team was considered the team to beat in the Western Conference prior to the playoffs.

Bruh, what I meant to say is that they did not create so much drama like the Miami Heat did! And no one can deny that they actually made it look really easy, to be honest. Even though of course it was not easy.

There might be surprises because Miami Heat has been very unpredictable.

Somehow, I have to agree with you there. Miami Heat's journey to the NBA Finals this year is really remarkable starting from the play-in tournament, playoffs, and now finally, NBA Finals. The last time an 8th seeded-team reach the NBA Finals was way back in 1998-99, which was the New York Knicks.
Beating the No. 1 Seed Milwaukee Bucks in the First Round, the No. 5 Seed New York Knicks in the Conference Semi-Finals, and beating the No. 2 Seed Boston Celtics in the Conference Finals, the 8th seed Miami Heat is really unpredictable.

You actually don't have to go a long way in the past. When it was 3-0 we all almost certainly thought that they were going to go to the finals. But after that, they had to create some drama and make it 3-3. The Miami Heat eventually got to the finals. That's why it is actually hard to credit the results with the Miami Heat right now.