The East finals were hot, and it was an interesting idea to imagine that G1 Horford made a timeout gesture towards the Heat, and then the Celtics were beaten 0-3. In G3, Butler made the same timeout gesture towards the Celtics, and then the Heat also lost three consecutive games, of which G6 was still in the form of a whistle-blowing shootout. Does this illustrate the truth that people must not get carried away?
In recent NBA seasons, sweeps have been relatively rare, because when leading 3-0, they often choose to let go of one game and then return home to earn tickets to celebrate the promotion. According to reports, the average ticket price for the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals is more than $200 a piece, while the Pepsi Center in Denver has more than 20,000 seats, which means that a home game can bring the Nuggets 4 million in turnover. Why would the Nuggets rather not make ticket money and sweep the Lakers 4-0?
Although the Nuggets swept the Lakers, from the perspective of the process of the game, it was still very difficult, with a difference of less than 6 points in 3 games, and the Nuggets even trailed by 15 points in the first half of G4, and finally only won by 2 points. This is enough to show that the Lakers are powerful, and the Nuggets do not guarantee that they will be able to win the Lakers at home in G5.
James is very good at reversals, there were 2-3 down in the Heat to reverse the Green Army and Spurs, in 2016 when they were 1-3 down, and then look at the current Green Army, who dares to say that miracles will not happen? In fact, not only the Nuggets, the Warriors roster was so luxurious that year, when they led the Cavaliers 3-0, they did not dare to slack off in the face of James, and the Nuggets' strength obviously did not reach the level of cosmic bravery.
At that time, the Heat was also 3-0 Green Army, so the Nuggets at that time must also want to advance as soon as possible to get enough rest time to play the Finals in better shape. If the Lakers are allowed to win G4, it is inevitable that they will dream a lot at night, and if they accidentally have an injury, it will be worth the loss. In the playoffs, the Nuggets basically used their main force desperately, sometimes starting five people playing more than 40 minutes.
Nuggets owner Kroenke is also a well-known rich man, ranking fourth among the 30 owners in the NBA, with assets of more than $8.4 billion last year. $4 million is an astronomical amount for ordinary people, but for Kroenk, it's not even pocket money, so he doesn't care about the ticket money for this show. Besides, the Nuggets' entry to the Finals is to make team history, and who wouldn't want to witness such a moment earlier.
Whether you earn tickets or not has nothing to do with players and coaches, because their salaries are only tied to the regular season, and the playoffs are all about honor. So playing one more home stadium, it is the boss, the league and the broadcaster that make money, so when the boss does not ask for it, the players and coaches are naturally happy to play one less high-intensity game.
From the 4-0 advance to the G1 Finals, the Nuggets will have a 10-day break, while the Heat and Celtics, no matter which team advances, will have less than 3 days off. If the Green Army advances, they can rest in Boston because of their home field advantage, and if the Heat advance, they will have to rush to Denver non-stop to prepare for the Finals. Of course, the same is true for the Nuggets, who are now struggling with whether to fly to Boston first, in case the Heat advance, they have to fly back.