What two conference finals we are having this season, huh? Three games in and the Denver Nuggets are leading the Lakers 3:0 and the Miami Heat are leading the Celtics 3:0. Who would have thought that at the beginning of the post-season? Not even the people who spend their time on betting sites and online casinos, for sure.
Well, truth be told, Denver Nuggets were the top seed in the Western Conference post-season, but people, for some reason, did not give them a lot of credit for what they did before the playoff season.
Celtics, on the other hand, were expected to easily stroll all the way to the NBA finals. The Eastern Conference final that was projected by the experts had Celtics and Bucks in it. Sure, the players from Massachusetts did their job, but Miami surprised everyone.
The 8th seed team was pretty much written off at the beginning of the post-season, but they showed why people should respect the underdogs. Jimmy Butler’s masterclass every single game is definitely leaving people in awe. Today, we are going to discuss the chances the four teams have in the Conference Finals and, of course, we will try to predict who will win the NBA in the finals.
Western Conference Finals
Sure, the 3:0 lead for the Nuggets seems pretty grim for the Lakers and their fans, but can they perform a miracle and escape this situation? The history says – no! In the NBA history, there were 149 series where a team has trailed 3:0 and they managed to come back and win the series 0 times. When you look at it like that, the Lakers are pretty much done. But, as LeBron said, they need to look at it one game at a time. If they manage to get one win, they can build on that. It will be complicated, but there is hope.
Nuggets, on the other hand, cannot relax too much. They want to finish the series in LA and they want to rest well for the finals. Nikola Jokic had arguably the worst game in this post-season and he somehow managed to score 24 points. Jamal Murray starred in LA with the amazing 37 points. He had a ridiculously good first half.
Chances are, the best NBA player will not have a bad night two games in a row. If he shows up in game 4 from the start, we can honestly say that the Nuggets will sweep the Lakers.
Eastern Conference Finals
If the NBA pundits expected the Nuggets to close out the Lakers in 4 games, they definitely did not see this coming in the Eastern Conference finals. Celtics are the number two seed in the East and they showed how deadly they can be in the last two games against the MVP Embid and the Phila team. Sure, Embid and his team let down their fans and the experts in a remarkable fashion with their poor performance, but Celtics also showed how prolific their offense is when they have their night. Smart, Tatum, Brown, and Horford can all bury many trees in a game, but they were nowhere to be found in games against the Heat.
Jimmy Butler and the boys trailed every game, but they were patient and they managed to win two times in TD Garden and basically end the series there. Their win at home in the third game just showed how clueless the Celtics are in this series. Can the Celtics survive the Heat? Well, never say never, but the history says we will see Nuggets vs Heat NBA finals.
Who Will Win In The NBA Finals?
If we assume that the Nuggets will play the Heat in the NBA finals, we need to discuss the chances both teams have in this matchup. When we look at the seeding, the Nuggets need to be considered favorites in the finals. They are the number one seed in the West and the Heat are the last seed in the East. From the perspective of the Denver Nuggets, the Heat are the perfect team for them. But, in reality, they definitely need to be cautious. The Heat players showed us that seeding does not win you games. They were written off a long time ago, but here they are, at the brink of the NBA finals.
The two key players are, of course, Nikola Jokic and Jimmy Butler. If one of them manages to outperform the other, that will, most likely, decide the series. Role players will be there to support their generals, but the Jokic vs Butler battle will decide the war.
If we have to pick one team, we simply need to go with the Nuggets. Not because they are a number one seed, but because they were the most consistent team in the playoffs. They simply seem ready and mature enough for the crown.