The Denver Gazette

Choice of entrée: NBA Finals or Casa Bonita?

WOODY PAIGE The Denver Gazette

Which is the most significant, magnificent event in Denver — the grand opener of the NBA Finals at Casa de los Campeones or the grand reopening of Casa Bonita?

Pretty House on Colfax Avenue or House of the Champions off Speer Boulevard?

Who were the most famous pair of Coloradans in the arena at the last Western Conference playoff victory in Denver — Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray of the Nuggets or Trey Parker and Matt Stone of “South Park”?

What’s the tougher ticket — a lower bowl seat anywhere in Ball Arena on Thursday night or a table for four anytime at Casa Bonita?

Which would be the smoothest move — a 28-foot jump shot by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in Game 1 or a 30-foot jump by a cliff diver on Day 1?

Who is the fabled fabulous five — Jokic, Murray, KCP, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. or Eric Cartman, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick and Clyde Donovan?

Which fan has been the most ludicrous — the Suns owner in series Game 4 of the series or “South Park” Episode 230 of the series when Kyle took Nichole to see the Nuggets play?

Which dessert is best — Porter Jr.’s dunk to finish a fast break or unlimited sopapillas?

Who are the most evil villains — the Woodland Critters or the Miami Heat?

Welcome to the NBA far-fetched fantastic Finals. Jokic and Murray vs. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, South Beach vs. South Park, Caleb Martin vs. Bruce Brown, Bongo’s Cuba Café vs. Casa Bonita, Cherry Creek vs. Biscayne Bay, Atlantic Ocean vs. Rocky Mountains, Mile High City vs. Magic City, Michael Malone vs. Eric Spoelstra, Pitbull vs. “Strong Arm’’ Frank Azar, 6.5 feet above sea level vs. 5,260 feet above sea level, Miami Vice vs. Denver Boot, league’s best defensive zone vs. No. 1 offense against defensive zone, 42 victories in regular season and postseason in Denver and only seven losses vs. team that hasn’t won in Denver since Nov. 30, 2016, former Denver Rockets vs. the extinct Miami Floridians, Colorado Avalanche vs. Florida Panthers finals sequel.

The Colorado governor proposed a bet to the Florida governor that the state of the winning team of the bestof-seven series gets (or keeps) Disney World. Perhaps if Miami prevails, Florida should get Aspen.

This is the first NBA Finals in history that features opposing players named Nikola Jokic. One was born in Sambor, Serbia, the other Leicester, England. They are not related but shared dinner one night in Miami. Both are 6-foot-11. One weighs 280 pounds, the other 223. One has started in 15 playoff games this season and averaged 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists. The other has appeared briefly in 5 games and averaged 0.4 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.0 assists.

The ABA teams from Denver and Miami used to play in the Auditorium Arena in downtown Denver (seating capacity of 6,800) and in Miami Beach at the Convention Center that had fewer than 2,000 seats.

The Heat and the Nuggets have played 72 times in the NBA, but never in the postseason. The Nuggets have won 38 (and six straight).

Miami’s uniform sponsors is “Ukg,” which stands for tech company Ultimate Kronos Group, while the Nuggets’ jerseys have “WU,” which stands for Western Union (which moved its headquarters to the Denver suburbs in 1995). As a young sportswriter, I sent columns to the newspaper by Western Union.

The Denver basketball team changed its nickname from Rockets to Nuggets in 1974. Casa Bonita, a themed restaurant featuring tastefully tacky Mexican food, opened the same year in a shopping center on West Colfax. Two years ago, Casa Bonita closed, but the pink palace was purchased and renovated by Coloradans Stone and Parker, originators of the successful show “South Park.” The Heat had Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez courtside at a playoff game against the Celtics. The two were teammates for the New York Yankees. Parker and Stone, Nuggets fans who attended the second game of the Lakers series, had a hit play on Broadway.

The Nuggets, whose hit play is “Pick & Roll,’’ are heavily favored to beat the Heat.

The Legion of Broom wins the championship in four.

The Nuggets must hold their title celebration dinner at Casa Bonita — if they can get a reservation.

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2023-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.denvergazette.com/article/281522230472034

The Gazette, Colorado Springs