NBA Finals 2023: Game - Set! Epic Basketball Showdown

Game - Set! NBA Finals 2023

Miami Heat has done it, Jimmy Butler and the team make it to the NBA Finals for 2nd time in the past 4 years. Up 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals, Miami gave the Boston Celtics a hope of comeback when they tied up the series 3-3 and took it till Game 7 where they just fell short of making themselves the 1st team ever in the NBA History to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the Playoffs.

Miami's lopsided victory in the thrilling Celtics-Heat Eastern Conference finals was somewhat of an anticlimax. To face the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals, the Heat beat Boston 103-84. The NBA club that blows a 3-0 series lead is not the Heat. They will instead become only the second No. 8 seed to make it to the Finals.

To talk about the team and its commitment to making it to the NBA Finals is one of a kind story where losing the 2nd star play of the team Tyler Herro in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs due to a shoulder injury. But one player's loss is another individual's gain and that individual is Caleb Martin. A player who most of the analysts thought could be the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, Caleb averaged 19.3 PPG, 6.4 RPG with 60.2 FG% and 48.9% from 3 pointer which is one of a kind performance from an undrafted player who was on the bench in the last playoffs.

Martin, who was playing in his second playoffs, scored at least 14 points in each of the seven games of the series, hitting career-highs of 25 and 26 points in games two and three, respectively. In a defeat in Game 6, he also excelled, scoring 21 points and pulling down 15 rebounds on 7 of 13 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three. Before Game 6, Martin was promoted to the starting lineup, and he'll probably stay there as the Heat move on to face the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.

In the Finals, the Miami Heat will face Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. The Heat will be making their eighth appearance as a club and their first since the 2020 bubble season, while the Nuggets will be making their first-ever Finals appearance.

Talking about the regular season, the No.1 seed, Nuggets won both the matchup against the Miami Heat during the regular season, but both games went down to the wire. 

But, the Nuggets and Miami share an incident which almost broke into a warzone on November 8, 2021, a fight between the Nuggets and the Heat resulted in a suspension for Jokic and a fine for Butler. Following a tough foul by Markieff Morris (who is currently playing for the Dallas Mavericks), Jokic pushed Morris from behind. Heat players were upset at what they perceived to be a cheap shot from Jokic and Butler could be seen telling Jokic to "bring your (expletive) to the back." Following the game, Butler, Kyle Lowry, and Bam Adebayo were seen lined up outside the Nuggets' locker room in a widely shared photo.

The NBA Finals kick starts on June 1 ET and would be the final nail in the coffin for both squads.