Doris Burke and Malika Andrews Preview the NBA Finals
ESPN’s Doris Burke breaks down the NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat.
The NBA Finals are here! It’s not the Lakers, it’s not the Celtics or the Warriors. It’s the Miami Heat led by Jimmy Butler and Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets. One thing is for certain: these have been the two best teams of the playoffs, and it features the two best players of the playoffs. Before game one, ESPN’s Doris Burke previewed the series for us while Malika Andrews looked back at the Conference Finals, and what she’s looking forward to in the Finals.
The Finals tip off of Thursday, June 1 at 8:30 pm ET on ABC/ESPN3, and you can stream every single game of the NBA Finals with Sling TV. With Sling Orange, you can watch the games on ESPN3, and ABC is available with Sling Blue in the following markets: Chicago, Fresno, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Raleigh/Durham, and San Francisco.
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Doris Burke Previews the NBA Finals
https://www.youtube.com/embed/0CfH5YspQmk
Denver Nuggets
Despite spending the vast majority of the NBA season atop the Western Conference standings, the Denver Nuggets spent much of the season flying under the radar. But this is a team with a well constructed roster perfectly suited to complement their two time MVP Nikola Jokić. The additions of Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown have helped elevate a Nuggets defense that has now stood up at critical junctures of playoff games. These three players are opportunistic with their cuts and shot making around the beautiful two man game run by Nikola and his co-star Jamal Murray. What a redemption tour for Jamal after missing all of last season recuperating from an ACL injury. All he’s done in the playoffs is average a career playoff high 27.7 ppg on 48% shooting, 39.8% 3PT shooting and 92.5% FT shooting. And fon’t forget Michael Porter Jr,, who is shooting 41% from three on almost 7 attempts per game.
But make no mistake, if the Nuggets win the championship it will be around the absolute brilliance of the Joker. The Western Conference Finals MVP is an unstoppable force. In the Nuggets' 15 playoff games, he has averaged a triple double (29.9 ppg, 13.3 rpg and 10.3 apg) with insane efficiency (53.8% fg, 47.4% 3PT, 78.4% FT) all while playing 39 minutes per game. He solves every defense and elevates his teammates on every trip.
Miami Heat
https://www.youtube.com/embed/P8tXt6hMFIA
The Miami Heat head to the Finals having beat the teams that had the two best records in the league in Milwaukee and Boston. But their improbable journey almost never got off the ground as they were trailing by three points with three minutes to play in a winner take all play-in game against Chicago. Fast forward to the Conference Finals, a gut-wrenching loss with 0.3 seconds left in Game 6 on their home floor might have shaken most teams. Instead, the Heat walked into TD Garden 48 hours later and snatched Game 7 in Beantown. Now they are just the 2nd eight-seed to advance to the Finals.
But underestimate the Heat at your peril. There is a competitive toughness, both physical and mental, that permeates this roster. They are coached by Erik Spoelstra, named a Top-15 coach in the 76-year history of the league. The emergence of Caleb Martin (47 points in Games 6 and 7) as legit scoring threat elevates a Miami offense that scuffled to score throughout the regular season. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are the respective hubs on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. In 17 playoff games, Butler is averaging a career playoff high 28.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 5.7 apg. But, the numbers don’t quantify the influence Jimmy has on the belief that this team has. Provided it stays close, they will make enough plays to win, no matter who the opponent. Adebayo has four All-NBA Defensive Team selections to his credit and will try to take on the Jokić assignment. But Miami also played the most zone possessions in the regular season by a wide margin and employed it effectively to slow and disrupt the Boston Celtics.
The rest vs. rhythm debate will be interesting to start the series. The Nuggets will have waited 10 days between games after their sweep of the Lakers in the West Finals. The Heat rode a rollercoaster ride through a seven-game Eastern Conference Finals. They will have a quick turnaround, having flown directly to Denver after their big win in Boston. To start the series, I am anxious to see if Miami can sustain the hot shooting they found during the course of the postseason. I can’t wait to watch what Coach Spo has planned to contend with Jokić. Michael Malone has led this organization to its first ever NBA Finals appearance and has them just four wins away from a championship. He is the son of a coach who has a profound respect and understanding for how hard it is to win in this league. He disavowed anyone of the notion this would be an easy series. Let’s tip it up! - Doris Burke
Game 1: Miami Heat @ Denver Nuggets – Thursday, June 1 at 8:30pm ET on ESPN3/ABC
Game 2: Miami Heat @ Denver Nuggets – Sunday, June 4 at 8pm ET on ESPN3/ABC
Game 3: Denver Nuggets @ Miami Heat – Wednesday, June 7 at 8:30pm ET on ESPN3/ABC
Game 4: Denver Nuggets @ Miami Heat – Friday, June 9 at 8:30pm ET on ESPN3/ABC
*Game 5: Miami Heat @ Denver Nuggets – Monday, June 12 at 8:30pm ET on ESPN3/ABC
*Game 6: Denver Nuggets @ Miami Heat – Thursday, June 15 at 8:30pm ET on ESPN3/ABC
*Game 7: Miami Heat @ Denver Nuggets – Sunday, June 18 at 8pm ET on ESPN3/ABC
*If necessary.
Malika's Moments
Moment of the Conference Finals:
There were a lot of moments between both series, but I’m going to go with the Derrick White last-second tip in off the Marcus Smart-miss to force the two best words in sports: Game Seven.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ASsKgkBsQs4
What I'm Looking Forward to in the Finals:
I do love Magic Johnson’s tweets. They make me smile. He said, “The NBA Finals will feature the two players who dominated the NBA Playoffs this year, Nikola Jokic and Jimmy Butler.” Like most of his tweets, he isn’t wrong! The battle between the Joker and Jimmy – even if they won’t be guading one another directly – is intriguing. These are two of the all-time great individual performances in the postseason.
NBA Playoffs 2023 - NBA Finals
Watch Every Game Live with Sling Orange!
NBA Finals
(1) Denver Nuggets vs. (8) Miami Heat
DEN leads 3-1
*If necessary
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