Paul Klee, Denver Gazette sports editor

Nuggets over Heat in 7: Ignore the odds that make Denver a huge favorite. This will be the Nuggets’ most difficult series yet. But Nikola Jokic has a favorite Miami nightclub where he’d love to blast the Serbian national anthem as he did after a 2021 win. Let it breathe, Joker.

Chris Schmaedeke, digital sports editor

Nuggets over Heat in 5: Denver is much better than Miami. Aaron Gordon silences Jimmy Butler and the Nuggets pull a “gentleman’s sweep” in the NBA Finals. Nikola Jokic is dominant again and Jamal Murray has at least two 30-point games in the series win.

Vinny Benedetto, Nuggets beat reporter

Nuggets over Heat in 5: As good as Bam Adebayo is, the Heat don’t have an answer for Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets exploit the mismatch repeatedly, snagging a game in Miami, before finishing off the franchise’s first championship at Ball Arena. There’s no dispute over Denver’s dominance in the end, as Phoenix, the only team to force a Game 6 against the Nuggets, needed two near-perfect games from Devin Booker to extend that series.

Kyle Fredrickson, Colorado Avalanche beat reporter

Nuggets over Heat in 6: Jimmy Butler has been the most entertaining player this postseason not named Nikola Jokic. Butler has the ability to take over a game and lead his team to victory. But he doesn’t have the supporting cast to win a title. The Nuggets do. That’s the difference in this series.

Chris Tomasson, Denver Broncos beat reporter

Nuggets over Heat in 5: After surviving against the Celtics and avoiding the embarrassment of being the first NBA team to blow a 3- 0 lead, the Heat will breathe a big sigh of relief. But while they’re doing that, the Nuggets will zoom by in the left lane and claim the first championship in team history. It will be quite a victory parade.

Tyler King, college sports reporter

Nuggets over Heat in 5: The Nuggets are simply a much better team than the Heat. Opportunities like this come around sometimes once in a career, even for the great ones like Nikola Jokic. “Heat Culture” can only take an 8-seed so far.

Denver makes its first NBA title look easy, proving that the best team in the league this season has been in the Mile High City all along.