How far will the Denver Nuggets go during the 2023 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat?

The Nuggets swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals after taking down the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns in the previous two rounds. They sealed the sweep with a 113-111 victory over Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena behind the stellar scoring of center Nikola Jokic, forward Aaron Gordon and guard Jamal Murray. Jokic finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, while Murray added 25 points in 43 minutes played.

“It's incredible,” Murray said, via the Associated Press. “It's a lot of fun. It's surreal. We're going to keep making history, that's the thing. We're going to keep that mindset.”

The Heat claimed victory over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals with a Game 7 win at TD Garden on Monday. Heat forward Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and hit 12 of his 28 field goals, while forward Caleb Martin added 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Will the Nuggets be able to prevail over Miami in the 2023 NBA Finals? What will be the most significant factors in paving the way to the first-ever title in franchise history?

Nikola Jokic

Jokic has been nothing short of extraordinary throughout the postseason.

In 15 games, the 6-foot-11-inch center averaged 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists. He averaged a triple-double during the team's sweep over the Lakers, earning 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 11.8 assists per contest, according to Basketball Reference. The former second-round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft became a proven leader for the Nuggets, leading by example as Denver fought its way to the WCF and beyond.

“You can't help but fall in line in how (Jokic) approaches it because any time he's around in the building you want to work hard for him, and he wants to work hard for everyone else involved,” Nuggets assistant coach Ryan Saunders said. “He leads by example in so many ways.

“In everything he does, he talks about just wanting to be a great teammate, which is one of the greatest things I've ever seen in sports.”

High-powered offense

The Nuggets' offense can be the key to a much-needed victory over the Heat.

Denver's offensive rating of 119.7, or the number of points scored by a team per 100 possessions, leads teams who made the playoffs. Both Jokic and Murray are scoring over 25 points per game in the team's 15 playoff games, while four other players are scoring in double digits, according to ESPN.

At one point, the free-flowing offense had the highest offensive rating of all time at 118.1, according to a January tweet from Mile High Sports Lead Nuggets analyst Ryan Blackburn. Denver has scored as many as 132 points against its playoff opponents and has scored 120 on six occasions.

They will have to find ways to deal with a tough Miami defense that took second place in the league with 109.8 points allowed per contest during the regular season.

Capable defense

It may be offense that can keep the Nuggets ahead of the Heat during the NBA Finals.

But, in the end, it's defense that wins championships.

Though it hasn't always been their strong suit, the Nuggets have held up well on defense, enough to appear in the Finals for the first time in franchise history. Denver ended the regular season with 112.5 points allowed per game and a defensive rating of 113.5. During the playoffs, the Nuggets improved to 108.1 points allowed per outing and a rating of 111.7.

They have capable defenders in guards Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Brown knew what his role would be for the Nuggets at the beginning of the season, and has proven to be a bright spot on Denver's defense throughout the team's playoff run. His playoff defensive rating of 108.7 puts him near Celtics center Al Horford and 1.2 points ahead of Boston guard Marcus Smart, according to NBA.com.

“I know why I'm here,” Brown said in October, via DNVR. “I'm here to play defense.”