Denver is up 3-1, will The Joker get the Last Laugh? Or will Himmy Buckets Rise Against the Odds?

Dude…

The final battle is currently going on for the convenient Larry O’Brien Trophy. The Denver Nuggets have been outperforming the Miami Heat as they currently lead the series 3-1. Things don’t look good for the Heat but, can we ever count Jimmy Buckets out? It’ll be a long journey to get past the Joker and the Nuggets as the Heat need to win 3 games in a row, including 2 at Denver, while the Nuggets are 9-1 in the playoffs at home. Here’s a quick recap for you fans out there, and what this average sports lover predicts is going to happen next.

Things started out in Denver. The Nuggets seeked to keep their home court advantage as the Nuggets were 8-0 at home coming into the Finals. Denver had also swept the Lakers and had a major advantage in rest time as it took the Heat 7 games to beat the Celtics. This would prove to have a major impact as well. The Joker took over another game yet again, and his partner-in-crime, Jamal Murray shot the ball well. On the other side, Bam Adebayo looked to be in great form. He tried to slow the Joker down as best as he could. The demon slayer himself, Jimmy Buckets, was quiet throughout the entire night. Another major disadvantage Miami was facing was their role players, who had shown up all season, were playing TERRIBLE. Max Strus went 0-10 from the floor and Caleb Martin went 1-7. Bam ended up with 26 points, but the Heat need to be firing on all cylinders to have a chance at beating Denver. The Joker ended up with 27 points and a triple double. Jamal Murray had 26 and the Nuggets got nice contributions from Micheal Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon who both were in double figures in scoring. The Nuggets extended their home winning streak in the playoffs as they won 104-93 to go up 1-0 in the series.

That 9-0 home win streak would end in game 2. Game 2 started off a lot like game 1 did. The Joker controlled the paint and continued to dominate as the Nuggets found themselves up double digits going into the 4th. In the 4th, the Heat tried something different on defense. Let Joker score and eliminate his passing ability by not double teaming him on the catch. This allowed the Heat to contest outside shots more, and made the rest of the Nuggets struggle to make shots. On the other side of the court, the Heat found their groove on offense. The Heat shot 69% in the 4th quarter and chipped away at the lead. The Heat found themselves up 3 with Jamal Murray having a decent shot at the buzzer. He missed and sent the series back to Miami with the series all knotted up at 1 a piece. The Joker had 41 points, but his teammates struggled everywhere else. Gabe Vincent led the way with 23, and Bam and Jimmy both had 21. The Heat beat the Nuggets 11-108.

As the series headed to South Beach, a lot of questions arose. Does Miami really have enough to beat the #1 team? Will the Nuggets figure out how to win without Joker giving them wide-open shots? In game 3, the Nuggets did what they have always done in these playoffs. The Joker took over and the Nuggets gained a commanding lead. The Heat chipped away at the lead, but it was still a wide margin going into the 4th quarter. The Nuggets desperately needed to continue to play well if they didn’t want a repeat of game 2. They needed someone to step up. It wasn’t Jamal. It wasn’t MPJ. It wasn’t even Aaron Gordon. It was the rookie out of Kansas, Christian Braun who stepped up. Braun was a major factor in Kansas’s title run in the 2021-2022 college basketball season. Braun took the ball and scored 15 off the bench. I may be biased, (I am, I’m a die-hard Jayhawk fan), but this extra piece is why I think this series is going to be over a lot earlier than I had hoped. Joker and Jamal both had triple-doubles, which led the way for the Nuggets to win 109-94.

The Nuggets were looking to put a real burden on the Heat as game 4 took place. I’ll give you one guess how the Nuggets started off. Let me give you a hint. The same way they had the last 3 games. The Nuggets got the Joker going, but struggled to get the rest of the team going. The Heat also struggled in the shooting category, as Jimmy Buckets finally decided to show out, but was let down by his supporting cast once again in the Finals. The Joker only needs one other teammate to get going for them to have a great probability of winning the game. It was Jamal in game 1, and Christian Braun in game 3. In game 4, the dunk contest biggest snuff, Aaron Gordon was the one to ball out. The Joker continued to feed the ball the Gordon in the low post, and Gordon continued to score. This game was a runaway train as the Nuggets rolled Miami once again winning 108-95 thanks to Gordon and Joker both having 27 points.

So, Miami finds themselves down 3-1. Miami has always been the underdog. Can Jimmy find that dawg in him and lead his team to come back down 3-1? Or will the Joker get the last laugh and swipe the Larry O’Brien trophy and bring it to Denver for the first time in their franchise’s history? Only time will tell. I believe the Joker will get someone rolling in game 5 and the series will be over tonight. I may be wrong, but I do know I will have a beer in my hand, watching what may be the final battle of the 2022-2023 NBA season. Tune in tonight at 7:30 central time to watch these two gladiators duke it out for what may be the final battle of the season.