The Game | NBA Finals: Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat Game 1 preview

We are just a few days away from witnessing the first matchup between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals Now before we get some hot takes let's first break down the matchup between the Nuggets and the Heat with basketball analyst Gelo Vito Gelo welcome back to the game and of course finally we have a matchup for the NBA Finals Miami Heat only a few days of rest for them but they're facing the Denver Nuggets Let's take a big picture overview what can you say about this matchup First of all like me and Pao were talking off-air Miami's the toughest route to this finals They had to face what was probably the best of the best in the East with the Bucks the Knicks and the Celtics But I think those from Denver are the easiest because they only lost three games in the playoffs And sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers for the LA fans And I think this matchup would be I don't want to say it's an underdog versus a top dog game Again you know how Miami is whether they're the 8th seed or the top seed they can still play and dominate And another advantage if you're from Denver you're well-rested right now So we'll see how things play out in the finals I was going to say that it's not that Denver had a hard road or an easy one but rather that they made it look effortless Again the Lakers are also sweet Sorry Director The Lakers are also sweet But how did Denver perform in the playoffs have they faced a team like the Miami Heat that could potentially cause them problems Because it feels like the Miami Heat are made of a different fabric In fact we saw that during the Eastern Conference Finals celebration There was no celebration Compare it to what happened to Denver But if you're looking at Kusino that's the comparison for Miami during the Western Conference playoffs I really think it was supposed to be the Golden State Warriors on my end But again obviously the Lakers took care of business If you're Denver you're going to be the Denver Nuggets and that would be a great matchup Golden State would have been the perfect matchup for them Maybe the Warriors would have won if it was the Golden State Warriors But then again the Lakers took care of business and they didn't pan out Sorry And coming into this matchup everyone's asking right Who's going to stop the Joker Well Bam Adebayo Based on their numbers in the playoffs can he stop or at least contain Nikola Jokic Look the point is that our cameramen have been asking who can stop the Joker Yeah I think the better matchup in this series is probably Bam Adebayo I think if you're going to look at other teams there's really no one who can match up with Nikola Jokic Bam Adebayo has been leading Miami's defense throughout the playoffs even during the regular season And you want him to stay aggressive You really can't stop Nicolo Jokic You just can't But just to contain and limit his numbers that would be perfect if you're Miami Yeah you know if you look at all the assist numbers 11.8 assists And it's not as if limiting Jokic to just being a scorer instead of a passer It's such a double-edged sword Because there's another guy you have to worry about Jamal Murray And Jamal Murray against Jimmy Butler is probably the matchup people are going to be looking at You take a look at this and perhaps Miami might have a slight edge in this particular matchup Where do you stand on this It's really tough to say Kasi again Jimmy both are leaders both are hard-fought guys But if I'm going to look at the matchups themselves I think Jamal Murray might have a bit of a tough time here in terms of Of course he's the point guard the best point guard in Denver He can score he can pass But if you're going to look at Jimmy Butler Jimmy Butler is the whole of Miami If you think about Miami it's Jimmy Butler And the intensity and the drive and the young swagger that Jimmy Butler brings to this finals It's going to be interesting to see If you saw the numbers obviously Lamang and Murray were top scorers against Adebayo and Butler But maybe because the Miami players are role players they are more helpful compared to the Denver bench What would you say about their sixth men Who knows about this between Denver and Miami Again nag-correct kita dun Jimmy Butler said they are not role players they're teammates The structure of Miami as I see it is kind of like this it's not take turns you take turns Baga whoever's hot let's go with them Perfect example Caleb Martin in that Game 7 against the Celtics 26 points 10 rebounds Again who would expect someone like him to step up Then there's guys like Max Truss Kyle Lowry who showed up in Game 7 And the returning Tyler Hero so it's going to be an interesting thing to see if you're from Miami You know it's funny again we're still seeing photos from the Miami Heat and their celebration Celebration No one is smiling because they know the job isn't done And you have to feel that it's because of how Eric Spoelstra has really embedded this Heat culture into the team Now coaching matchup Mike Malone honestly one of the best basketball minds right now because of what he's done with Denver It's not just because he has Jokic he has everyone shooting well But Eric Spoelstra the two of them against each other who has the advantage That's a tough call but I think I'd go with Mike Malone in this case Really Okay But not to discredit Coach Spoelstra he's been with the Heat and has worked with many superstars He's worked with a lot of not-so-superstars in Miami And this is the perfect example of his brilliance as a coach He knows how to adjust he knows how to Because if you think about it you're three straight Celtics and maybe others would just back down and give up But the way he implemented his system the way he controlled everyone in that locker room it's really really tremendous if you're Coach Spoelstra Right so we're taking the first-timer over the six-time finalist No no He is by the way We are not Yes yes Correct correct Thank you for correcting Yeah we have to keep our distance from Gelo because sometimes his opinions are too intense But then given all of that I think one of the more interesting things to watch out for is Spoelstra's zone which has been a big factor throughout this season And how Mike Malone is going to try to inevitably wreck it I think they implemented it for me the way I saw it the Miami Heat implemented that zone defense because of the matchups against the Celtics For sure there will be some adjustments and tweaks especially since the offense is revolving around Nikola Jokic So the defense might be focused more on how to contain and limit Nikola Jokic and the others You know I love Gelo Vito's analysis