[Hoot Gibson]

Miami has been an underdog in every playoff series that it has won so far. Denver has been the favorite in every series that it has played. Denver won both regular season games against Miami but both teams' rotations look much different now than in their earlier match-ups. Tyler Herro is expected to return for the NBA finals but he has been out of action for a long time. Jamal Murray only played in one of the regular season games against Miami.

I predict that Denver will dominate this series, winning the championship in 5 games. Bam Adebayo is a great defensive player but nobody has been able to slow down Jokic in the playoffs, including Anthony Davis. Jimmy Butler has played great during the playoffs, but nobody has defended him better than Denver's Aaron Gordon has. Denver has won 9 of its last 10 games against Miami. Both teams play very hard on both ends of the court (unlike the underperforming Celtics), so I don't expect a lot of blowouts in the series. But I don't believe that Miami has the size and depth to win a series against Denver. The fact that Denver will have a total of 9 days of rest entering the series is another Nuggets advantage.

Does anybody else want to post a prediction? It should be a great series and three ex-UK players will play key roles. Murray, Adebayo, and Herro are all excelling in the NBA.

[Cactus Jack]

With you on Denver winning the series in 5. If I had to pick a different outcome, it'd be them taking it in 6. I think the difference in seeding becomes more of a factor in this round as Denver has the rest that you'd mentioned, plus the Heat had two extra games in the play-in and are coming off of a seven game series with Boston. Not trying to tail on this now that Denver took game one (which I was still at the office for the majority of and didn't to see anyway); I'd read a statistic about last night that home teams with five or more days rest going into Game 1 of the Finals had won around 88% of those openers (albeit against a small sample size) whereas all Game 1 hosts had were at about 76% historically.

I think Butler gets loose in at least one game and the Heat will be able to pull at least one out, possibly even in convincing fashion. I'd expect that win to come in one of their home games. Whether they're able to pull off another tight one is up in the air & depends on how well the Heat shoots on a night that the Nuggets are a bit off. Ultimately, I just think it's Denver's year so long as Murray and Jokic avoid an injury.

Miami was probably always going to be one player away from winning it all, and arguably would have lost Game 7 to Boston but for Tatum getting injured early. I don't know that getting Herro back is going to be a huge difference maker for them that some think it could be.

[Hoot Gibson]

I believe that there is a good chance that Denver sweeps this series after watching the game last night. Denver is too big and athletic for Miami. Jimmy Butler will undoubtedly have better games than he did in the opener but Aaron Gordon has a history of causing Butler problems. When Gordon is not on the floor, then 6'10" Michael Porter, Jr. will be waiting for him at the rim.

The scary thing about last night's game is that Denver is capable of playing much better offensively than they did last night. Porter had a great game but he only hit 2 of 11 shots. When Jocic decided to shoot, he was unstoppable. I also do not think that Miami's zone defense is going to be much of a factor in the serious. Unlike Boston, if Denver is missing open 3-point shots, they will exploit mismatches like they did last night with Aaron Gordon going to the rim.

I like both of these teams a lot. They play the style of basketball that I enjoy watching. After Bird and Johnson retired, I pretty much gave up on the NBA. Watching players take turns playing one-on-one and forcing shots when double and triple teamed bored me.

[Cactus Jack]

Per ESPN, line for tonight's Game 3 from Miami is DEN -2.5.

Looks like some serious recency bias is at play on this one given where the series futures and other line originations were.

I got to watch much more of Game 2 and liked what Miami did with their lineups, looked as though they wanted more size and to involve Love (an excellent outlet passer) to try to steal some points in transition to negate Denver's size and exploit their lack of quickness at certain positions.

I really respect Jokic and think he has a great basketball IQ and an excellent skillset, but it has been a long time since I've seen someone get away with what he does in terms of using his weight and momentum (usually by dipping his shoulder or extending his forearm) to dislodge defenders. I'll go on record as saying that if a player like DeMarcus Cousins or Dwight Howard were to have been officiated the same, the numbers that they'd put up would be unreal.

[Hoot Gibson]

Jokic plays like a big center. I don't see many defenders trying to plant their feet and take charges from him. He is able to do more dribbling in the paint because teams have to be very careful about double teaming him because of his passing ability. Jokic is in great physical condition, which is why he is able to turn defensive rebounds into fast breaks with him beating his defenders down the court on the dribble.

I picked the Nuggets to win the series in five games and I am sticking with that prediction. Miami will not continue to hit 49 percent of their three-point attempts and Denver will either improve their defense or there will be some new faces on the floor. Miami plays hard and are well coached but if both teams play up to their capability, the Heat cannot win the series.

[Hoot Gibson]

Game 3 Final Denver 109  Miami 94

Jamal Murray 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists
Nikola Jokic 32 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists

This was the first time in the history of the NBA that two teammates had 30 point triple doubles in a Championship Finals game.

[Hoot Gibson]

I was mistaken. This was not only the first NBA Finals game to ever feature two NBA players posting triple-doubles, it was the first such game - regular season or playoffs - in which two teammates ever posted triple-doubles.

Jokic is getting a lot of criticism for downplaying the significance of the incredible stats that he is posting. Gilbert Arenas says that the fact that the best player in the NBA is Serbian is bad for the NBA because he is not playing a proper role for a "star" and that the NBA will not be able to capitalize on his success on the court because he will return to Serbia after winning the NBA Finals MVP instead of cashing in on his award through commercial endorsements.

[Hoot Gibson]

The Nuggets took a commanding 3-1 lead in the Championship Finals last night with a 108-95 win over the Heat in Miami. Jokic went to the bench with his fifth foul early in the 4th quarter with the Nuggets clinging to a 10 point lead. He returned with under 5 minutes to go, with the Nuggets still holding a 9-point lead. Both Jokic and Murray's scoring was down last night, but Aaron Gordon tossed in 27 points and Bruce Brown came off the bench for another 21 points. Murray had 15 points, 12 assists, and 0 turnovers.

Denver coach awarded Jokic a "chain" to recognize him as the Nuggets' defensive player of the game. Jokic had 23 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 3 steals, and numerous deflections and kicked balls that stopped entry passes for layups. Denver forced Miami into 14 turnovers and the Nuggets had only 6.

Game 5 tipoff is in Denver at 8:30 PM. I will be surprised if Denver does not win Monday to for their first championship.