The wait is over. The 2023 NBA Finals are finally here, and it’s hard to predict whether Denver or Miami are taking the Larry O’Brien Trophy home. Needless to say, everyone is looking forward to seeing who emerges victorious.
The Nuggets made their way to this stage in great fashion, having clinched the No. 1 seed in the West before sweeping LeBron James and the Lakers en route to the final. Now, many expect Nikola Jokic to lead his team to the promised land.
The Heat, however, have already defied the odds by reaching this stage of the playoffs – but they want to finish the job. The problem is it’s been a while since Miami last won in Denver.
The Heat lineup in Miami’s last win in Denver in 2016
Miami Heat haven’t beaten the Nuggets in Denver since November 30, 2016. Needless to say, many things have changed since then. For instance, both lineups look completely different today.
The Heat starting lineup that day was Luke Babbitt, Josh McRoberts, Hassan Whiteside, Rodney McGruder, and Goran Dragic. On the other hand, the Nuggets started with Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Jusuf Nurkic, Jameer Nelson, and Emmanuel Mudiay.
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While Jokic and Jamal Murray were already in Denver and came off the bench, the only player who remains on the Heat roster today is Udonis Haslem. Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler was in Chicago and Bam Adebayo was a freshman at Kentucky. Time flies, right?
