The Miami Heat are on the verge of becoming the second No. 8 seed to advance to the NBA Finals in league history (the 1999 New York Knicks were the first). Up 3-0 in the Eastern Conference finals, the Heat can complete a sweep of the No. 2-seeded Boston Celtics on Tuesday night in Miami. An NBA team has never come back from such a deficit.
The Denver Nuggets await the ECF winner when the NBA Finals begin on June 1. If Miami wins Tuesday, there will be more than a week off between the conference finals and NBA Finals, allowing plenty of time for rest and acclimation to Denver's altitude.