Remember the 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat?

That feels like an eternity ago, but it was roughly 19 months from now.

The Nuggets and Heat are completely different teams from that championship series despite the fact that many of the main characters remain the same. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are still Denver’s dynamic duo. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo…well, they’re still on the Heat…kind of.

Let’s delve back into the Miami Heat matchup:

Denver Nuggets @ Miami Heat

Projected Starting Lineups

Denver: Russell Westbrook, Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr., DeAndre Jordan

Miami: Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Haywood Highsmith, Bam Adebayo

Key Bench Players

Denver: Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, Aaron Gordon, Dario Saric

Miami: Alec Burks, Duncan Robinson, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Kel’el Ware

Notable Injuries

Denver: Nikola Jokic – QUESTIONABLE, Aaron Gordon – QUESTIONABLE, Jamal Murray – PROBABLE, Vlatko Cancar – OUT, DaRon Holmes II – OUT

Miami: Jimmy Butler – AVAILABLE?, Bam Adebayo – AVAILABLE, Josh Richardson – OUT

Key for the Nuggets – Nikola Jokic’s health

Nikola Jokic missed the last game due to right elbow inflammation, something he sustained during pregame warmups on Wednesday night, according to Michael Malone. The injury designation has changed to a right elbow sprain, and Jokic is listed as questionable on the injury report. The fact that he’s questionable indicates this is likely a minor injury, but given that it’s in Jokic’s shooting and passing elbow, discomfort and pain might affect him from game to game.

Hopefully, this doesn’t affect Jokic that badly. If he does play, it will be a tough matchup against Bam Adebayo, who always defends Jokic physically and forces him to work hard for every basket.

Important Matchup – Michael Porter Jr. vs Jimmy Butler

Yes, THAT Jimmy Butler. This is his first game back from a seven-game suspension imposed by the Heat for conduct detrimental to the team. Butler has made several public and private overtures that he doesn’t want to be in Miami anymore, but it appears that he will return to the floor. What happens tonight is anyone’s guess and I’m looking forward to the fireworks just as much as everyone.

On the other side, Michael Porter Jr. attempted just four shots on Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets. He did get to the free throw line quite a bit, but at this point, he’s not helping Denver that much at the free throw line, shooting 70% on the season.

If Jokic doesn’t play, can Porter generate better offense for himself and others? He has more to give as a creator, and the Nuggets need him to improve this aspect of his game prior to the playoffs. With Jokic off the floor, Porter’s usage rate stays roughly the same at 20% while his True Shooting drops from 65.8% to 55.6%. The Nuggets need him to be more efficient without Jokic. End of story.

Number of the Day – 13-2

That’s Denver’s record against Miami during the 2020’s decade, including the 2023 NBA Finals in which Denver won the series 4-1. The only other time the Nuggets lost to the Heat was in August 1st, 2020 during the Bubble, the very first “regular season” game in the Bubble for Denver.

What an era.

Nugget who should have a good game: No Idea

Three games in four nights with Denver traveling two time zones yesterday from West to East and losing two hours. That’s an absolutely brutal travel schedule and one that leads me away from specifying anyone in particular. Young guys might be able to handle that better which would lead me toward Christian Braun, Julian Strawther, and Peyton Watson. The Heat like to go zone, especially with their bench units, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Strawther had an opportunity to attempt a bunch of threes as a zone buster.

We will see who handles the travel well. If Jokic plays? Probably Jokic. Same for Aaron Gordon.