Ah yes, it’s the finals we all anticipated: the one-seeded juggernaut Denver Nuggets with Nikola Jokic vs. ... the play-in Miami Heat with Nikola Jovic?
Not even LeBron James would claim he predicted this coming.
But that’s exactly what makes this matchup so intriguing. Outside of perhaps Jimmy Buckets, no one saw the Heat making a finals run. I did warn fans to not underestimate Miami just before the playoffs, but even that felt like a stretch considering my ultimate conclusion was that they shouldn’t be favored in any series.
This is truly unprecedented and there really isn’t one explanation which shows how the Heat have pulled this off, and they’ll now face their toughest test against the well-rested Nuggets.