Nikola Jokic (#15) of the Denver Nuggets looks on in Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, May 20, 2023. /CFP
The Miami Heat will play the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Thursday. The No. 8 seed of the Eastern Conference, the Heat upset the East No. 1, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the East No. 2, the Boston Celtics, on their way to the final stage.
In less than 24 hours, the Heat will challenge the Western Conference No. 1, the Nuggets, and their ace Nikola Jokic, who has averaged 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game in the playoffs so far. Neither three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves nor the Los Angeles Laker's epic big men pair of Anthony Davis and LeBron James couldn't stop Jokic from dominating the floor.
The Heat contained some of the NBA's sharpest attackers, including Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks and Jayson Tatum of the Celtics, with their resilience and flexible defensive policy. However, Jokic's complete offensive skills set him apart from the players they have tried to contain before.
Nikola Jokic (#15) of the Denver Nuggets shoots in Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 21, 2023. /CFP
"He's very unique," the Heat's head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He doesn't really have any noticeable weaknesses in terms of his size, his skill set. He's one of one in the myriad of ways that he can impact the game and impact winning."
Guarding a superstar like Jokic has never been a one-man job, not to mention that the Heat have no one capable of slowing Jokic down on their own. The team's regular center Bam Adebayo is too small in front of the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player. Kevin Love is not much bigger than Adebayo and terribly slow on the defensive end, and Cody Zeller is not on any of the team's rotations in the playoffs.
"Guarding him as a team with all five guys," Jimmy Butler said. "He does everything so well, and we're going to have to be in the gaps; we're going to have to gang rebound. We can't have defensive lapses. We're just going to have to get after it. I think at the end of the day, he's a major key, as DJ Khaled would say, and we're going to have to lock in."
Nikola Jokic (#15) of the Denver Nuggets shoots in Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, May 20, 2023. /CFP
Jokic knows what he will face in Thursday's game. He has done his homework on the Heat, especially their most important secret for defeating the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals – zone defense.
"You're going to see tomorrow," Jokic said when asked about the Heat's defense. "But we saw the zone. Definitely, we didn't see this kind of zone because they are switching zones, and they're really, really messing up the game in their favor. We just need to be focused and solid in what we are doing because that's why they are great, that's why they are winning, that's why they're in the finals. They're messing the game in their way, and they're doing that really good."
This will be the Nuggets' first time competing in the NBA Finals. The Heat have played and won the series before but never as the No. 8 seed. No eighth-seeded team has ever won the NBA Finals since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1984.
Therefore, whichever team wins the NBA Finals this year will make history.