Who Leads the NBA Series?

The NBA Finals are underway and it’s anybody’s guess who will come out on top. Stay up to date on the latest standings and who’s leading the series.

The Conference Finals

It’s down to the last four teams in the NBA playoffs. In the East, it’s the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. In the West, it’s the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. Who will advance to the NBA Finals?

The Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Western Conference in the Pacific Division. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, an arena shared with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, having won 17 NBA championships, their last being in 2010.

As of June 2020, the Lakers hold therecord for having made 36of 59 playoff appearances – 60%– while also making 31of 34 Finals appearances – 91%– more than any other team in NBA history. Of those 31 Finals appearances, they have won 17 championships, which is also more than any other team in NBA history.

The Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers have a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven conference finals against the Denver Nuggets. The Clippers are coming off a 111-98 victory in Game 5 on Tuesday night. Kawhi Leonard had 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Clippers, who took a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. Leonard is averaging 31.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the playoffs.

The Denver Nuggets

Heading into the conference finals, the Denver Nuggets have a 2-1 series lead over the Portland Trail Blazers. Nikola Jokic has been leading the way for the Nuggets, averaging 25.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game. Jokic has been nearly unstoppable in the post and has also been hitting his outside shots when given the chance. Jamal Murray has also been playing well for Denver, averaging 21.7 points per game. Murray had a breakout game in Game 3, scoring 36 points to help the Nuggets take a 2-1 lead in the series.

The Trail Blazers have been led by Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, who are averaging 28.3 and 24.0 points per game, respectively. Lillard has been carrying Portland on offense, but McCollum has struggled at times during the series. In Game 3, McCollum shot just 5-for-18 from the field and scored 14 points. If Portland is going to win this series, McCollum will need to play better.

The Nuggets are slight favorites to win this series, but it should be a close one throughout.

The Miami Heat

The Miami Heat lead the Eastern Conference Finals 3-1, with game 5 set to take place on Friday. The Heat are looking to make their sixth consecutive appearance in the NBA Finals, while the Celtics are hoping to return for the first time since 2010.

In game 1, the Celtics jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 112-109 victory. The Heat evened the series with a Game 2 win, before taking control of the series with wins in games 3 and 4.

Leading the charge for the Heat has been Jimmy Butler, who is averaging 21.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6 assists per game in the series. Bam Adebayo has also been key, averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds per game. For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum has been their best player, averaging 25.5 points and 10 rebounds per game.

The winner of this series will go on to face either the Los Angeles Lakers or Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.

The NBA Finals

The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are currently tied in the NBA Finals with one win each. The Warriors took Game 1 with a score of 124-114. The Cavaliers came back strong in Game 2 and won with a score of 120-90. Who will take the lead in the series?

The Los Angeles Lakers

After winning game five of the 2020 NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers are now leading the series 3-2 against the Miami Heat. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the way, the Lakers are looking to take home their first championship since 2010. In order for the Lakers to win the series, they will need to win one more game. The Heat, on the other hand, will need to win two games in order to take home their first ever NBA championship.

The Los Angeles Clippers

With a commanding 3-1 lead in the 2020 NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Clippers are just one win away from their first championship in franchise history. Led by two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and All-Star forward Paul George, the Clippers have been the best team in the NBA all season long, winning a league-best 53 games during the regular season.

In the playoffs, Los Angeles has been even better, dispatching the Dallas Mavericks in the first round and then taking down the defending champion Toronto Raptors in the conference semifinals. In the conference finals, the Clippers faced off against fellow L.A. team the Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The series went back and forth, but ultimately it was the Clippers who came out on top, winning Game 7 by a score of 106-93.

Now, Leonard and company will look to close out the Finals against the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat. The Heat have been a surprise team this season, led by All-Star Jimmy Butler and a cast of young players like Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. They defeated both the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics en route to their first Finals appearance since 2014.

The stage is now set for what promises to be an exciting finale to what has been an incredible NBA season. Tune in to see if Leonard can lead his team to glory or if Butler and the Heat can pull off one of the biggest upsets in Finals history.

The Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are currently leading the NBA finals with a 3-1 record. The Nuggets have looked very strong in the playoffs so far, and they will look to continue their winning ways in the finals.

The Nuggets have a very balanced team, with a strong starting lineup and a deep bench. Their starting lineup features All-Stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, as well as solid role players like Gary Harris and Paul Millsap. The bench is led by sixth man Monte Morris, who has been a key contributor in the playoffs.

The Nuggets are a well-rounded team that can score, defend, and rebound at a high level. They will need to be at their best if they want to win the NBA championship.

The Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division.

In their 32 seasons of existence, the Heat have won three NBA championships, five Eastern Conference titles, and 11 division titles. They qualified for the NBA Playoffs in every season since 1997–98, never suffered a regular season sweep in franchise history until 2018–19, and from 2013 to 2019 were one of only two Eastern Conference teams to appear in more than one NBA Finals series during that time span. After losing in the first round of the playoffs from 1988 through 1995, followed by a brief return to relevance with a playoff berth and division title in 1996, they suffered through another period of mediocrity through much of the late 1990s and early 2000s before rejoining the playoff picture again after acquiring Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade through free agency in 2003 and ultimately winning their first NBA championship later that same year.

TheHeat defeated the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2006 NBA Finals to capture their second consecutive championship, becoming just the sixth team since 1970 to win back-to-back titles. TheLeBrons James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade led Miami on an 11-game winning streak that culminated with a101–88 victory over Oklahoma City Thunderin Game 5 of the 2012 NBA Finals to win their third title. This was their first Finals appearance since 2006 and fourth overall. In all but two seasons from 1990–91 to 2016–17the team qualified forthe playoffsand advanced at least one round;the franchise has never suffered more than four consecutive losing seasons (a streak which currently stands at just two non-playoff campaigns). The Heat hold numerous franchise lists including winners of at least 60 games in a season on three separate occasions (twice withJamesand once with O’Neal),winnersof 27 or more games intwostraightseasons (the second-longest streakbehind only San Antonio’s 20 from 1998 to 2000),most regular season home losses due tobothpoor climate conditionsand player injuries (58),winnersof 13 or more road gamesin amini-series(4), parent club for26 players whohave played intheNBA All-Star Game(20 as MIA members); parent club for10 players whohave been namedto anAll-NBATeam(six as MIA members); parent club for10 players whohave beennamedto anAll Defensive Team(seven as MIA members);andparent clubfor14 head coacheswho have ledanall star team.(11as MIA members)