Denver Nuggets VS Miami Heat COMPLETE Analysis & Predictions

I know the Garden is going to be rocking tonight and I believe the Celtics will thrive and win this game. I think I'm with Perk. I think Boston's going to win the game. You know confidence meter I said six earlier on get up. I think I walked across the hallway it's at six and a half now maybe seven. Well they asked me this question earlier. I told them I want whatever number is more than 10. That's how confident I am. Whatever number is more than 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Just do a hundred. Okay I'll do a hundred. Well that didn't play out the way the media thought it would. The Miami Heat avoided being the first team to squander a 3-0 lead and with that Game 7 win over the Boston Celtics, Jimmy Butler did three things. Number one, he was able to get rid of the ghosts of yesterday which haunted him from last year's Game 7 loss. Number two, just like Steph Curry with the you don't want to see us next year statement, he was able to fulfill his prediction from last year. Next year we will have enough and we're going to be right back in the same situation and we're going to get it done. Then number three, with that Game 7 victory, Jimmy Butler made Tatum and the Celtics have to endure another team celebrating a championship on their home floor. I know it was just the Eastern Conference Championship but it was a championship celebration nonetheless and with that being said, we now have a finals matchup between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets. A matchup between the Joker and Hemi Buckets. A first seed versus an eighth seed and man guys, let's get into the analysis and prediction immediately. So first off let's look at Denver here. As y'all can see from the statistics, the Nuggets have two superstars in Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. They're both averaging close to 30 points a game on elite efficiency and then from there they also have multiple players scoring in double figures and the scary thing is they're efficient as well. For all intents and purposes, this team is about six players deep because although Jeff Green and Christian Braun are getting minutes, they aren't too effective as you can see from the numbers. So it's not a secret that for this Nuggets team to win, Nikola Jokic is going to have to play like the two-time MVP that he is. I know he's been shooting the lights out from the perimeter but the truth is his main key to success is going to be to dominate the paint and I believe he's going to do just that. I mean Bam Adebayo is the toughest interior defender for the Heat and if the Joker was able to run through Anthony Davis, he's going to be able to completely plow through Adebayo. That's not all he's going to do though. As we all know, the man is averaging a triple-double throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs and I don't expect that to stop in the finals. Just like how Steph is able to gravitate the defense to him on the perimeter, Jokic is able to gravitate the defense to him in the paint. In order for the Miami Heat to stop him from shooting like 80% from the paint, they have to send help and that's when the Joker makes the passes to open shooters and the thing is the Nuggets have three other elite perimeter shooters. Murray, MPJ and KCP and as I saw in the two regular season matchups between these two teams, this was a big part in how the Nuggets were able to get those two wins and going forward in this series, this is going to be the bulk of the Nuggets offense and this is the problem that Miami has to solve. So far in these playoffs, Kevin Durant wasn't able to figure it out and neither did LeBron James but the advantage that the Miami Heat have is Eric Spolstra. As of today, the Heat's head coach Spolstra is the best coach in the NBA. Not only is he able to connect with and motivate his players but he's the best X's and O's guy in the league. No disrespect to Greg Popovich or Steve Kerr but when it comes to playing chess on the hardwood, I don't think anybody does it better than coach Spoh. Anyway, as for the Nuggets other superstar, Jamal Murray, oh and yes, Jamal Murray is a superstar. Just like how playoff Jimmy is a thing, playoff Murray is a thing. It's not just bubble Murray anymore, it's really playoff Murray and he backs this up with the eye test and with the numbers. I mean in critical situations during that series against the Lakers, he made light work of Anthony Davis which is no easy thing to do. Then when you look at the analytics throughout 15 games, the man is averaging 28 points on shooting splits of 48 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 92.5 percent from the free throw line. That's Steph Curry-esque. Anyway, against the Heat however, I don't think his numbers will be as good. Miami is a team that prides itself on being in the greatest shape. I actually remember reading before that they have a really strict body fat test that's a requirement to be on the team which is why I'm surprised sometimes that Kyle Lowry is on the team. But anyway, the Heat don't exactly have size, but what they do have is speed and athleticism. They'll put an active body on Murray at all times, he'll be in his face and although he's not just gonna disappear, I don't think he'll have the same success against this Heat team because of the matchups. You know, I don't know if you could call one game a small sample size, but in that one regular season game where Murray did play against the Heat, he was a negative nine in the box plus minus while his partner in crime was a plus 14. So for the Nuggets to win this series, Jokic is going to have to bring it every game. Now on the other side of this coin, we have the Miami Heat and Jimmy Buckets. What this man has done so far this postseason has been nothing but legendary. I mean taking out Giannis and Tatum is something that only a madman would have predicted. Anyway, if he wants to take out the Joker and another number one seed, this is how they're going to have to do it. Just like how Jokic is at the center of every offensive possession, the Heat are also going to have to put him at the center of every defensive possession. High screen pick and rolls for 48 minutes or however long Jokic plays is what the Heat are going to have to do. And here's why. Number one, this will tire him out. As you see from the numbers, the two-time MVP is a lot more efficient in the first and third quarters where he has fresh legs. Then in the second fourth quarters his efficiency drops. This was more notable last year than this year, but still I'd rather have him shooting at 56 percent from the field rather than 63 percent. Number two, this is the best way to get good quality shots. I mean if Jokic plays drop coverage on the perimeter then it'll be an open three and if he closes the gap up too much then they should be able to easily blow by him for a drive towards the rim. Another advantage the Heat are going to have is, like I said earlier, Eric Spolstra. Normally even in the deepest stages of the playoffs, we normally don't get to see masterful performances by coaches. I mean from what I saw last year, Joe Mizzoula's one strategy was to get the ball into Tatum's hands and let his superstar carry him. Monte Williams' main edge was his ability to motivate his players, but the thing about Spolstra is he analyzes everything to get every single advantage he can. One example was when he utilized the zone to go on that fourth quarter run in game six, then mixed and matched that zone in game seven to confuse the Celtics offense. Then from there, the last thing the Miami Heat are going to need if they want to win is another legendary performance by Jimmy Butler. To be frank, he's not more skilled than Murray, he's not more dominant than Jokic, but in my opinion, if there's one thing he has more than them, it's will. To win this series and become the first eighth seed to win a championship, Jimmy Butler needs to impose his will on this series straight from the get-go. I mean, if he doesn't, who will? Etta Baio wouldn't even get up to dunk over Derek White in game seven for Pete's sake, so I'm pretty sure that they can't count on him to impose his will in this series. Anyway, as of today, you've got to be a madman to bet against the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is too much of a beast, and if Durant and Booker couldn't stop him, if LeBron and AD and the refs couldn't stop him, the odds don't look good for Butler and the Heat. The good news for Heat fans, however, is that in the two regular season games they played, although the Nuggets won, it wasn't by much. I mean, five points in the first game and four points in the second game. But despite that, while I'm rooting for Miami, if I had to put money on the line, I'd say the Nuggets in five or six. And looking at the Vegas odds, the Nuggets are a minus 400, which means that to win 100 bucks, you gotta put down 400. Anyway, which team do you guys got winning in the finals? Let me know in the comments down below, and then click this video next.