[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.