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Lowe - The superstars, matchups and schemes that will determine the 2023 NBA champion - ESPN

The last two conquests of the Los Angeles Lakers' bubble championship meet three years later in an NBA Finals that feels both fitting and half unexpected — the Miami Heat half.

This is the culmination of a five-year arc for the Denver Nuggets — what appeared before Jamal Murray tore an ACL in April 2021 to be the classic NBA slow burn to ultimate triumph: progressive advances leading into gut-punch defeats until the young team is ready. Murray's absence interrupted that journey, but the Nuggets used that time to prepare for his return.

With Murray gone, Nikola Jokic scored more — and realized he could do so without losing his innate basketball identity as one of the greatest playmakers ever. Michael Porter Jr. found his footing. Michael Malone continued to grow. The front office tweaked around the core, eyeing two-way players who feed off Jokic's preternatural passing and unlock defensive versatility. Provided good health, this was their window.

Even as Jimmy Butler, then just 30 and in his first season with Miami, helped the Heat push the Lakers to six games in those 2020 Finals, league insiders felt pangs of anxiety: Could this last? Six players remain from that Miami team: Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Gabe Vincent and Udonis Haslem. Vincent played 15 seconds in the 2020 playoffs. Haslem played none. Robinson was an undrafted sharpshooter with defensive limitations. Was bubble Herro real? Could Butler's body hold up?

It was always someone else's time. The Milwaukee Bucks entered the bubble in 2020 as the No. 1 seed, ready to avenge postseason demons; the Heat vanquished them in five games. The Bucks won the title the next year, sweeping the Heat along the way, and seemed primed to rule the East.

Read more on espn.com