Fwiw nuggets are wildly high on Peyton Watson, way higher on him than Braun who they also like
You think the Heat have ‘grifted’ their way to the Finals?
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I say it tongue in cheek. but they didn’t make it on talent. A combination of injuries, great coaching, with a sprinkle of good shooting variance and Jimmy mind games
Also game 5 should be tonight
I tend to think the mind games mostly only matter to Jimmy.
I mean, this is the same roster that made it to the ECF a year ago, but guys like Strus, Vincent, and especially Duncan shot terribly during the regular season so there is some reason to think they’re better than an 8 seed
But obviously a large part of their success is due to a combo of their own absurd heater, and Boston’s frigid streak.
I still think scoffing at the idea that they are underdog because Lebron and Wade played there 10 years ago is weird
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It’s not scoffing that they are the underdog because it is literally true. It is scoffing at rooting for them specifically because they are the literal “underdog” when their fan base has experienced a ton of success in recent memory while Denver’s fan base has never experienced any success. Who cares that Denver had a better record this specific season? It’s more fun to root for the franchise that has never experienced this and could win for the first time ever.
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What fanbase? I briefly lived in Denver and few people there give a single f&ck about the Denver Nuggets. I was there when Jokic had won his second MVP and if you ask your average Denver resident they probably have no idea the best basketball player in the world plays in their city.
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I can bet the average Miami resident would be similar or worse
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on one hand, having a good team tends to generate fans, and Miami’s had a lot more opportunities to do that than Denver. on the other hand, I definitely remember heat fans getting a lot of negative attention during the lebron years for being front-runners, leaving games early, etc.
I think we tend to attach descriptors to fans based on their teams - in the lebron era they were painted as the obnoxious, attention-seeking nouveau riche (not exactly a new thing for miami, obviously) and now I think we’re thinking of them a little more like jimmy butler. denver hasn’t had the chance to have that same evolution/build up the same fanbase
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I think this is a hard series for a neutral to pick. My head tells me I should root for Denver, for a new championship team and for a team that is incredibly well put together and plays beautiful basketball. And yet, Miami definitely has plucky underdog vibe going strong as 8 seed and betting underdog in every playoff series. They played a play in game! I also think most of America has seen about three times as many Heat games due to time zones, and so they’re is a natural appreciation of the team.
So personally, I keep trying to root for Denver but end up rooting for the Heat. It was obviously easy in Game 4 to root for a longer series too. I think tomorrow I’ll root for the Nuggets to close at home. That’s a huge thing for a first time champ.
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The best was the footage of all the fans being denied access to the arena when they left before Ray Allen’s big shot.
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This is the first time that they have a full squad of healthy MPJ and Murray. Aaron Gordon never got to play with both of them fully healthy so the Nuggets are a different team this season and it’s no accident that they’re about to win it all. Having Murray back allows Gordon to be the #3/#4 option while doing the dirty work and MPJ is a perfect 3 and D wing player for them.
I’ve been rooting for a Game 7 series with Triple Overtime. So I’ve mostly been rooting for the Heat.
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Just to be clear, the Nuggets fans that actually go to games / follow the team are great and bring that bit of uniqueness that Denver’s culture has to offer.
It’s also important to not how hostile the Kroenke’s are to local fans, by giving broadcast rights to a cable station that you need to pay through nose to get, and so like 20% of Denver citizens can see games, and it’s been that way for years
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Heat in seven* 
I feel like I read this same headline before EVERY game for the last two rounds. Then I see video clips of him taking shots in pre-game. Then I see him wearing a goofy outfit on the end of the bench and not playing. We’ll see…consider me doubtful.
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Heat are getting great shots. Hitting none of them. This could get away from them early.
Jokic hasn’t been in foul trouble all playoffs until he played the grifters
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The NBA doesn’t play defense. 
Man, these teams are workin’.