NBA
2023 NBA Finals Heat vs Nuggets odds and predictions: who is the favorite to win?
Miami and Denver will meet in the 2023 NBA Finals for a place in history after defeating Boston and LA in the Conference Finals.
The Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets will collide in the NBA Finals after following very different trajectories to get to this stage of the competition.
Denver ended the regular season as the best team in the Western Conference, while Miami, who finished, eighth in the East, earned their presence in the playoffs via the Play-In Tournament.
The Nuggets have proven almost unstoppable since then, being the best team in the postseason. They easily handled the Timberwolves (4-1) and had little trouble defeating Durant and Booker’s Suns right after (4-2).
Against the Lakers, who looked in great shape after eliminating the Warriors, many NBA pundits thought it would be a close series, but Michael Malone’s men proved them wrong by comfortably beating Lebron James’ side (4-1).
If the Nuggets have been the most solid team in the playoffs, Miami have been the most surprising side. In their first-round series against the favorites Milwaukee Bucks, they pulled off the upset by only losing one game against Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team, and they managed to get the best of the New York Knicks in six games.
The best playoff series so far saw the Heat face last year’s runners-up, the Boston Celtics, who were expected to make it to the Finals again. However, Erik Spoelstra’s pupils took a huge advantage by winning the first three games.
Boston never threw in the towel and emerged victorious in the next three matches, making it a 3-3 tie. Although the seventh game was played at TD Garden, with momentum on their side, Miami were focused on getting the win from the very first minute and took the tickets to the Finals (103-84).
Heat vs Nuggets: odds
Taking into consideration both sides’ paths to get to the very last round of the competition, the Denver Nuggets are the favorites to win the Championship.
Nikola Jokic has been the most decisive player in the postseason and one of the best players during the 82 regular games so far, leading his team to clinch the top spot in the West.
A victory for Denver, who would lift their first-ever NBA Championship, is priced at 11/50 (1.22), while a win in the Finals for the Heat is paid at 3/1 (4.0).
Heat vs Nuggets: prediction
The Heat will want to do it one more time. They shocked everyone by defeating the Bucks in five and they did it again by upsetting the Celtics. Jimmy Butler has been the team leader so far and proved, once again, that Miami’s chances of doing something big heavily rely on him.
After losing Game 6, he told the media that they were going to bounce back in the seventh, and that’s exactly what they did. Butler was the best player of the game, scoring 28 points, followed by a solid Caleb Martin, who ended up with 26.
However, the Nuggets seem to be on another level. Moreover, in their last 10 games against each other, the Nuggets have dominated the matchup with eight wins, while the Heat won two games. The Nuggets have also the more complete roster and are the more well-rested team, not to mention they have Jokic on their side.
Prediction: Denver Nuggets to win the NBA Championship in six games.