The Heat have been swept by the Nuggets for the past three regular seasons
Can the NBA Finals stage the Black 8 miracle
The Heat have been swept by the Nuggets for the past three regular seasons
On June 6, the 2-2022 NBA Finals begins. Will the Denver Nuggets win their first championship in team history, Jokic become FMVP, or will the Heat stage the first Black Eight miracle in league history, and Jimmy Butler will become the Finals Most Valuable Player? In fact, according to the expectations of the vast majority of fans and media, the answer seems to have been revealed before the game. Although there are too many uncertainties in competitive sports, there is still a relatively large gap between the two teams, whether it is in terms of meeting history, team lineup, stars or the ability of core players, the Nuggets have a clear upper hand. It takes a lot of courage to predict that the Heat can win a championship, and I'm afraid few people are optimistic about them except for some Miami fans. Most people are optimistic that the Finals series will end in 23 games, the Nuggets have a 6% or more probability of winning the championship, and the media boldly imagines that the Nuggets will win the championship by a 73-4 or even sweep.
Record
Regular season for the past three seasons
The Nuggets swept the Heat
Over the past three seasons, the Nuggets have swept the Heat in the regular season, although it seems that sometimes the Heat have gone further in the playoffs because the two teams are not in the same division and cannot meet in the playoffs. Such a record of confrontation gives the Nuggets a greater psychological advantage: I'm not afraid of you, you are my defeated subordinate. The last time the Heat beat the Nuggets was in 2020, when the pandemic began. Now is completely different from then, and the Nuggets not only have home-court advantage, but also have a smooth ride since the playoffs.
state
The Nuggets took a break of more than a week
There is a great advantage in physical reserve
After an early victory over the Lakers, the Nuggets have more than a week off and they have a big advantage in physical reserve. Jokic, Jamal Murray and their teammates are already ready to go, happily looking forward to the Finals, watching carefully the Heat in the final games of the Eastern Conference finals, and then calmly formulating various targeted tactics. The Heat and Celtics have played seven games, exhausted and consuming, and by the time of the Finals, the impact of this exhaustion will definitely be reflected in the game, maybe the first and second games will not be too obvious, and the more the Heat will be more difficult to deal with high-intensity confrontation.
history
There is never precedent for a Black Eight victory
It's hard for the Heat to create miracles
In the history of MLB, only in 1999, the Knicks reached the Finals as the eighth in the East, but failed to win the championship, and there was no precedent for the Black Eight championship, and it was too difficult for the Heat to create this miracle. There are still examples of winning championships in the early Finals, and the Nuggets are likely to replicate this. Moreover, the Heat have gone all the way to the Finals as the lowest ranking in the regular season, and this result should be psychologically acceptable. The Nuggets made history, and the goal of winning a championship for the first time inspires everyone, especially for a superstar like Jokic, who has a ring to be a successful career, and he won't let the victory slip away.
strength
The Nuggets have an advantage in every way
Core Jokic is even better
If the above analysis is "false", then the argument that the Nuggets can defeat the Heat to win the championship is the comparison of strength, and the Nuggets have an advantage in almost all aspects.
In terms of star ability, Jokic is one of the league's superstars, and although he failed to win three consecutive regular-season MVPs this season, he is also recognized as one of the top players in the NBA. Moreover, judging from the several sets of playoff matchups that have ended, his potential seems to have not been fully tapped, it can be described as bottomless, and he has played a triple-double at every turn, and it can be said that no one in the league can surpass him at present.
On the court, the Western Conference semifinals were as strong as Davis and could not shake Jokic. Butler, the absolute core of the Heat, is certainly a tough guy, but after all, age is there, and there is a certain gap between absolute ability and Jokic.
Of course, this is only a matter of central role, and the two people are not in the opposite position on the field. Jokic's super all-round performance as an inside and outside player has eliminated top interior linemen such as Downs, Gobert, Ayton and Davis in a row, and each round has ended in the form of crushing, and the Heat's Adebayo wants to limit Jokic is completely impossible.
Other positions, Nuggets Jamal Murray's hot form, allowing him to completely dominate the backcourt, he even has the possibility of competing with "Mr. Jo" for FMVP (Finals MVP), as the team's "second master", he has completely taken off this season, averaging 27.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game in the playoffs, shooting nearly 3% from 4-point range, 15+ points in 7 playoff games 30 times, and even a single 40-point performance.
Such a staffing of both internal and external training, such a team, is almost invincible, the current Nuggets main players, starting players are in order, injury-free, health is far better than the Heat. In this way, there is basically not much suspense in the finals.
Text/Reporter Liu Ailin
(Beijing Youth Daily)