It’s that time of year again! The NBA finals are on the horizon!

Calling all you B-ball fans out there! Buckle up for a rollercoaster ride as Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets fight for the right to claim basketball’s most sacred prize. With a maximum of 7 games between one of these basketball giants and glory, you can bet your bottom dollar that both of these teams will be giving their all in their quests to bring home the grand prize.

So, without further ado, let’s dive right into the action!

Miami Heat will be in high spirits heading into these epic encounters after becoming the first 8th seed team to reach the NBA finals since New York Knicks way back in 1999 and the first team to achieve this feat in a full 82-game season. 

However, although it would have arguably taken balls of steel to back The Heat to make it this far at the start of the playoffs, they’ve slain a couple of mighty dragons on route to the final. Eric Spoelstra’s men made light work of the Eastern Conference’s highest point scorers and #1 seeds, Milwaukee Bucks, dispatching them in 5 games with Jimmy Butler picking up a playoff career record haul of 56 points in game 4 as his side rode to a 119-114 victory.

Heat then followed this up by overcoming New York Knicks 4-2 in the conference semi finals to set up a showdown with last season’s finalists Boston Celtics. The Floridians got off to an absolutely blistering start in this series, winning all 3 of the first 3 games to put The Celtics on the brink of elimination and leave their dreams of avenging the pain of last year’s final defeat to Golden State seemingly in tatters.

However, as is often the case in the playoffs, Boston ratcheted up the tension by staging an epic fightback, winning all 3 of the next games to leave the series tied at 3-3 heading into the 7th game. However, luckily for Heat both Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin brought the goods in game 7 as they cruised their way to a 103-84 victory to win the series and set up a date with destiny.

One thing’s for sure, they’ll have a job on their hands against Denver Nuggets. After bolstering their roster in the off-season, The Nuggets were in imperious form during the regular season, finishing as the top seeds in the Western Conference for the first time in their history after racking up 53 wins and 29 losses.

Michael Malone’s boys carried their winning momentum into the playoffs by brushing aside 8th seeds Minnesota Timberwolves in 5 games to set up a grudge match with Phoenix Suns, who had eliminated them in the conference semifinals back in 2021. It was looking like plain sailing for The Nuggets at the start as they romped home to victory in the first 2 matches to establish a 2-0 series lead. However, The Suns had other ideas as they picked up back-to-back wins, despite a career-high 53 points from Nikola Jokić in game 4, to peg the series back to 2-2.

Luckily for Jokić and Co., their opponents' joy proved to be short-lived as The Nuggets bounced back with a vengeance to win the next 2 games and book a place in the conference final against Los Angeles Lakers. Although The Nuggets have experienced heartbreak against The Lakers in the past, the men from Los Angeles were no match for them on this occasion as the pride of Denver coolly swept them aside in 4 games and they’ll no doubt fancy their chances of going one better in the finals. 

The question is - have they got what it takes to do so? Whatever happens, this mouthwatering matchup looks set to be an absolute cracker that’ll have us all glued to our screens over the next few weeks!