Undefeated at home, you could easily make the case that the Denver Nuggets have been the best team in the playoffs since the first round. With Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. all coming off a fantastic 4-game series against the Lakers, it’s no surprise they are being favored heavily to beat the 8th-seeded Heat and secure their first championship in franchise history.
Even still, Nuggets coach Michael Malone isn’t going to let his team downplay the challenge ahead. Speaking to the media ahead of the Finals, Malone got real on the series to come and what kind of fight he’s expecting from the Heat.
“As I told our team, forget the #8 seed stuff. They beat Milwaukee 4-1 and they had the most wins in the NBA this year. They beat Boston 4-3 and they were up 3-0, team with the second most wins this year. When you get to the NBA Finals, it’s not about seeding anymore. And for those that are thinking this is going to be an easy series, I don’t even know what to say to you people. This is going to be the biggest challenge of our lives. It’s the NBA Finals.”
"Forget the 8-seed stuff…it's going to be the hardest thing that we've ever done."
Coach Michael Malone on what his message has been to his Nuggets team 🔊#NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV Game 1:
Thursday, 6/1 at 8:30 PM ET on ABC pic.twitter.com/jj3zab14l0
— NBA (@NBA) May 30, 2023
It’s still tough to digest what we’ve seen from the Heat this season. To make the Finals and beat teams like the Bucks and Celtics along the way is an outcome that almost nobody would predicted two months ago.
On paper, it would be easy for the Nuggets to dismiss the Heat as inferior, but that’s the same mistake so many other teams before them have already made.
Can The Heat Beat The Nuggets To Win The Title?
In a lot of ways, this run from Miami feels a lot like March Madness in college basketball. They’ve been underdogs the whole way through and keep winning despite being counted out time and time again.
So, if the Heat got this far, why wouldn’t they stand a chance against the Nuggets?
“Everyone doubted us but here we are,” Gabe Vincent said when asked why the Nuggets should be afraid of the Heat.
Of course, the Heat are facing their toughest opponent yet and it remains to be seen how they will answer to the tandem of Jokic and Murray. For now, though, the Heat still have faith that they can get it done, and why shouldn’t we believe in them as well, given how far they’ve come?
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