The Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat will play Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday night.
The Nuggets are looking to win their first NBA championship in franchise history. They won the Western Conference and have only lost two games in the postseason.
Meanwhile, the Heat are the second No. 8 seed to ever reach the NBA Finals (1999 New York Knicks). Miami is in the Finals for the second time in the last four seasons.
Here is how you can watch the NBA Finals between the Nuggets and Heat.
NBA Finals schedule, TV channel, how to stream
The Nuggets and Heat will have three days in between all but one game of this series.
Game 1 will tip off Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Nuggets have home-court advantage and will play Games 1 and 2 at Ball Arena in Denver.
The official NBA Finals Schedule: pic.twitter.com/XZ2uIAa9Ki
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) May 30, 2023
Every game of the Finals will be at 8:30 p.m. ET, with the exception of Game 2.
The NBA Finals will be broadcasted nationally on ABC.
You can stream the NBA Finals on fuboTV, which has a 7-day free trial.
NBA Finals analysis
The Denver Nuggets are heavy favorites against the Miami Heat. They have -460 odds to win the series by FanDuel.
The Nuggets had the best record in the Western Conference during the regular season. They defeated the No. 8 seed Minnesota Timberwolves, No. 4 Phoenix Suns and No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers.
Denver is led by two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who is regarded as arguably the NBA's best player. The Nuggets have a roster that fits his game well.
He has a second star, guard Jamal Murray, who has been dominant in the playoffs. Denver has prolific 3-point shooters and a forceful big man, Aaron Gordon, who can compliment Jokic in the post.
The Nuggets were not favored to win the West over the Suns but they have looked like the best team. Denver hammered Phoenix outside of two losses in the series and swept the Lakers, who defeated them in the 2020 Western Conference Finals.
Miami's run has been surprising. The Heat beat the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks, who had the NBA's best record, in five games.
Miami then beat the No. 4 New York Knicks in six games and then the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics in seven.
The Heat are led by Butler, who has been an elite playoff performer. His game tends to switch from a mid-range shooter to an all-around scorer in the playoffs.
Miami needs Butler to perform if it is going to win the NBA Finals. He carried the Heat with a 56-point performance in a pivotal Game 4 against the Bucks. He the had 42 points to close them out in Game 6.
The team's offense has also improved tremendously.
The Heat have shot 39 percent from the 3-point line, which is above what they shot in the regular season (35.1 percent).
The Nuggets are favored in this series and have matchup advantages. Jokic has a height advantage (6-foot-11) over Heat center Bam Adebayo (6-foot-9). They also have bigger wings for Miami to defend.
The winner will cap off a historic run for their respective franchise.
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