NBA Finals Nuggets v Celtics/Heat | Series Previews

Nuggets @ Celtics | TD Garden | Boston, MA | Series Tied 0-0

Nuggets vs Heat | Ball Arena | Denver, CO | Series Tied 0-0

As the Denver Nuggets still await to see who their opponent will be, and as we sit about an hour before Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Heat and Celtics; some key questions have arose in the meantime; Who would you rather see them play? Who is a better matchup? Will this long wait hurt/help them? Lets try and answer these questions the best we can.

Who Would You Rather See Them Play?

The Miami Heat. Pretty plain and simple. For the main reason being that Denver would have home-court advantage against the Heat. I don’t want to get too far ahead, but the Nuggets also matchup a little better with Miami as well. While the Nuggets may “have their way” with Miami, if it were to come to that, Game 7 would be back in Denver where the Nuggets are undefeated this postseason. Plus, playing a few games in South Beach isn’t too shabby, just hope it won’t be a distraction for the organization.

Who Is The Better Matchup?

Like stated above, the Miami Heat. But looking at Boston, they might propose the bigger “issue” or Denver and for lack of a better term. While I feel like the Nuggets will win a 7-game series against either team, Boston would probably present a grander challenge. Much like the Lakers, the Celtics have the ability to use big-man Robert Williams like Anthony Davis, as the free-safety type “sitting 8 seconds in the paint”- paraphrasing obviously. It has been known that Nikola Jokic doesn’t need much time to adjust to how he is being defended. Whether it is Al Horford man-to-man and R. Williams roaming in the middle and coming over to help. We’ve also seen in the ECF series, even players like Jimmy Butler are e bit hesitant to drive into the paint like he normally does, especially with R-Dub standing their waiting. But I don’t think the Joker will be as hesitant, and much like the Lakers’ series, I can see Robert Williams’ assignment be Aaron Gordon and make him hit open shots. On the flip side, AG’s obvious assignment would be Jayson Tatum. Jamal Murray would be on Jaylen Brown, although I think Kentavious Caldwell-Pope might be on him a little more because of his length. But

these two matchups may depend on who’s shooting better- Jaylen Brown or Marcus Smart. That leaves either R. Williams or Derrick White. Depending on who Boston starts, Jokic would be tasked on either Al Horford or Williams, and Michael Porter Jr. on either Horford or Derrick White.

Looking at Miami vs Denver, the matchups are pretty self-explanatory. Normally, Bam Adebayo is the only “big-man” on the court at a time for the Heat. While Bam is probably the most athletic 5 out of either team, I’m not sure Miami wants Bam and Cody Zeller on the floor at the same time like Boston can use Williams and Horford, like we’ve seen a lot in these playoffs. It seems Jokic would have his way with both Bam and Zeller. We did not see Kevin Love play one minute in Game 6 for Miami, and we may not in Game 7, but we might just because Miami would have to double-up Jokic. Denver is longer than both teams as well. I’m not sure what the percentage is on Gabe Vincent’s ankle, but we may see Jamal Murray take advantage of that. But, if they win, the Heat and Vincent will have two full days of rest before Game 1. Jimmy Butler will most likely be tasked by Aaron Gordon, as we’ve seen AG guard some of the most prolific scorers and better players in the league over these past few series’. Let's also keep in mind what play a factor and an "X-factor" for the Heat, Tyler Herro may be able to play by Game 1.

Neither Boston or Miami want to be physical, maybe for the exception of Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum. Who are ironically each team’s “best options”. Bam Adebayo and Al Horford/Robert Williams will bang in the paint with you, but it seems only to block shots and grab rebounds- which may be their only soul purpose for their respective teams. The Bam-Jimmy Buckets tandem only combined for 35 points for the Heat in Game 6, and a combined 9 for 37 from the field- Miami cannot have that to win a series vs Denver, or Boston for that matter. We’ve mentioned in other pre and post-game articles that these postseason series’ are very-much based on each team’s role players. Special performances from the likes of Caleb Martin’s, Duncan Robinson’s, Marcus Smart’s and Derrick White’s may also need to happen for either team vs Denver- because the Nuggets’ supporting cast, alongside the duo of Joker-Murray, have very much stepped up in their three matchups so far.

Will This Long Wait Help/Hurt Denver?

Obviously much is being made of this, almost ten days off for Denver. And here in Denver, it is understandably being compared to the Colorado Rockies’ “Roctober” run in 2007. The Rockies swept their way past Philadelphia and Arizona to the World Series, also their first appearance in a championship series vs, ironically, Boston- who swept Colorado. I’m not going to get into the differences in how baseball is very much non-comparable to basketball, but healing long and short-term wounds is very much applicable. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray’s wrist have been a slight issue for both, but also whatever sickness that Murray was going thru during the Lakers’ series is drained from their locker-room. Staying focused, staying in “basketball” shape and just trying to game-plan for either team must be a tad bit difficult during this break. I personally think if the Nuggets were to start with home-court advantage (vs the Heat), you probably won’t see any rust in front of the home fans. But if they had to travel to Boston, the effects of the time-off might be very evident in the first couple of minutes if they were to look a little sluggish.