Thursday, June 01, 2023 Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets (NBA) - 8:30 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Point Spread: -9/-110 Denver Nuggets Rating: 10* Mike's NBA Double-Banger (WIN) (WIN) Kudos to HC Eric Spoelstra & the NBA Eastern Conference 8th-seeded squad, the Miami Heat for making it this far. They did the same in the bubble against the Lakers before losing in the NBA Finals. They're the 3rd team in the past 35 seasons to reach the NBA Finals despite being underdogs in their previous 3 playoff series' - joining the 1995 Houston Rockets & the 1999 New York Knicks. However, Spoelstra's mixing in of a 2-3 zone & man-to-man pressure "D" that worked in part against the Celtics & their rookie HC WON'T here! Why? Because Denver averaged 1.21 points per possession against zones this season which was good for 2nd-best in the NBA. Think about it CLEARLY! Porter, Jr. is shooting 40.8% from 3-pt. land on 6.9 attempts per game, Jamal Murray is hitting 39.8% of his attempts & Kentavious Cladwell-Pope leads the team with a 41.1% beyond-the-arc FG percentage on 4.9 attempts. As a whole, they've also hit a nifty 37.9% against uncontested looks this postseason. Now let's say Miami uses their usually sound man-to-man against the Nuggets. That would still leave a far from 100% Bam Adebayo matched up against premier star Nikola Jokic whose leading the team in points (29.9), rebounds (13.3) & assists (10.3). Jokic has owned Adebayo (when he was 100%) & has shot a whopping 68% against the Heat in recent meetings. Nuggets' HC Michael Malone won't get stupid overnight as he's MORE than capable of devising advanced schemes & can make the adjustments to put Denver in position to win a game. He'll DEFINITELY know how to isolate Jokic on smaller defenders to create GIGANTIC mismatches. You collapse on him, he's the BEST in the NBA in finding the open usually uncontested higher-percentaged shooter. Remember, Porter will have a defender he can easily shoot OVER the top of & Jokic will EXPLOIT these situations. On the flip side, there's the case for Marquette product Jimmy Butler whose put up numbers like (28.5 PPG), 5.7 assists per game & 2.1 steals per game.. Yes, he has presented a problem with each Eastern Conference team he's faced thus far in the playoffs. However, expect HC Malone to employ constant pressure on Jimmy Butler (once adjustments are made elsewhere) using a combination package with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope & Aaron Gordon going on & off him. When the Nuggets were still in gel-mode, they swept the season series against the Heat this season. They're FAR BETTER now & taking on a team off a grueling series against the Celtics. The Nuggets may show a little rust here & there. But wait when they kick it in! Denver is 8-0 SU @ home in the playoffs & NOT a .500-like Boston team with hardly ANY home court. My bottom line point out the fact MANY don't look @ the Nuggets as a defensive team. Really? They sit a high 5th out of 30 in defensive efficiency when playing @ Ball Arena where they'll have homecourt advantage. Good luck to all those sucker-bet Miami followers who think they're invincible & will continue to shoot @ a high percentage! We're simply kicking ASS here in the series that COUNTS so let's go to the high-altitude of Ball Arena in Colorado to confidently play FIRST the DENVER NUGGETS on the ML for Game 1 & SECOND the DENVER NUGGETS - 1 1/2 games to win the NBA Finals for 10 GIGANTIC Stars! Sunday, June 04, 2023 Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets (NBA) - 8:00 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Point Spread: -8/-115 Denver Nuggets Rating: 9* Mike's NBA Finals Game 2 Solidifier (LOSS) I believe the Nuggets can pick up right where they left off. The many advantages Denver holds were all evident in Game 1. See my DETAILED writeup for the series earlier for all those advantages of how they win it between 4 & 6 games. Play the DENVER NUGGETS on the ML for Game 2! Mike Handzelek's 2022-23 NBA Final Overall Record: 8-4 for 67%