Denver and Miami go their own way – both with success

They are the leaders of their teams: Jimmy Buttler in a duel with Denver’s Nikola Jokic (right).

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Golden State won four championships between 2015 and 2022 – and owed this mainly to great three-point shooters. Steph Curry is the most prolific three-pointer in NBA history, and Klay Thompson is on the verge of breaking into the top 10 on the all-time leaderboard. Curry in particular is often said to have changed the league.

As is well known, success breeds imitation, which was also the case with The Dubs – but not everyone has a Curry or a Thompson on their team, so many a coach has chosen to go his own way. So did Mike Malone with the Denver Nuggets and Erik Spoelstra with the Miami Heat. Both coaches also rely on their three-point shooter, but at the same time there are other aspects that characterize the respective game of their teams – and lead to success.

Miami, the underdog with the zone

There was Miami, who played the role of an underdog and eliminated two big favorites with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics. Jimmy Butler may be the big star of the Heat, but alongside the 33-year-old, the team is made up of many undrafted players who are coordinated and work well as a collective.

This also means that the role players often work well. Then there is the popular zone defense. A concept well known in Europe but still a source of confusion in the US – and one that made the difference in Game 7 against the Celtics.

Denver, the favorite collective

Collective is also a keyword for the Denver Nuggets, who are favored for the championship not least because of Nikola Jokic. The Serb may be the leader of the team, but perhaps his greatest strength is that he manages, together with his congenial partner Jamal Murray, to make the other team-mates shine.

In Colorado, a free man is very often sought – and because everyone in the team knows that, there is also an incredible amount of rotation, everything is always on the move, which puts additional demands on the opposing defense. The Heat felt that in game one of the final series (93:104). The Florida team now has to find an answer.