Heat vs Nuggets: NBA Finals Prediction, Picks, Game 3 Odds, Series Odds, Schedule

The Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat will compete in the NBA Finals.

The series is tied 1-1 as the NBA Finals head to Miami for the next two games.

Denver had the best record in the Western Conference this season and was considered a title favorite heading into the playoffs. On the other hand, the Heat needed two play-in games to advance to the postseason as No. 8 in the Eastern Conference. This is one of the reasons why the Nuggets opened up as big betting favorites to win the series and the title.

The Heat are looking for their fourth league title, but the first in 10 years. The Nuggets are seeking their first league championship in franchise history.

Who will you hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy – Jimmy Butler and the Heat of Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets?

Let’s take a look at the upcoming series from a gambling perspective. Here’s everything you need to know about the series odds, Game 3 odds – the point spreads, moneylines, total Over/Under – betting results and an expert pick from FOX Sports Betting Analyst Jason McIntyre.

Gold nuggets bee HeatWednesday 8:30 PM ET, ABC (series tied 1-1)

Point spread: Gold nuggets -2.5 (Nuggets are preferred to win by more than 2.5 points; Heat cover otherwise)
Money Line: Nuggets -149 favorites to win (bet $10 to win a total of $16.71); Heat +110 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win a total of $21)
Total Score Over/Under: 215 points scored by both teams combined

Miami heat

MIA

+2.5

+110

u215

WINNER OF THE SERIES

nuggets: -250 (bet $10 to win a total of $14)
Heat: +200 (bet $10 to win a total of $30)

HEAD-TO-HEAD REGULAR SEASON

Dec 30: at Nuggets 124, Heat 119
Feb 13: Nuggets 112, at Heat 108

Schedule, series scores (all times 8:30 p.m. ET, TV ABC):

Game 1: Nuggets 104, heat 93
Game 2: Heat 111, nuggets 108
Game 3: Nuggets at Heat, Wednesday
Game 4: Nuggets at Heat, Friday
Game 5: Heat at Nuggets, June 12
Game 6: Nuggets in Heat, June 15*
Game 7: Heat at Nuggets, June 18*

* = if necessary

According to FOX Sports Research, the Nuggets (+500) are the second-biggest betting favorite heading into the NBA Finals in the past 16 seasons, trailing only the Golden State Warriors against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017-18 Finals (-1075 ).

Choose by FOX analyst sports betting Jason McIntyre:

The NBA Finals puts two fun teams to watch against each other. From the East come the No. 8 seeded Miami Heat, a team on a historic run. From the West comes a team that has been the best in that conference since December, but has so far failed to gain respect in the betting market. That team, of course, is the Denver Nuggets.

The Heat lost a play-in game at home to the Atlanta Hawks and trailed Chicago late in the fourth quarter before rallying to advance. No one had let them beat the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, especially after they lost their third leading scorer, Tyler Herro, and his 20.1 points per game due to a broken right hand.

But the Heat, which ranked 27th in 3-point shooting during the regular season, has taken a deep breath. Heading into the finals, they are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the playoffs.

The Heat got beaten up during the regular season. They missed the second most games due to injuries and were +12500 to win the title when the playoffs began.

Jimmy Buckets is the man, but Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Duncan Robinson have all caught fire during this run.

It should be noted that Denver is not a great defensive team. While the Nuggets are first in the playoffs in offensive efficiency, they are only seventh on defense. They gave up 121 and 129 points in back-to-back games against the Suns.

There’s a scenario where the Heat continues their torrid 3-point shooting, Butler gets his way with Aaron Gordon, and Erik Spoelstra comes up with some exotic defenses to slow down The Joker.

You can’t choose Miami in this series if you are committed to numbers and believe that the sun rises and sets with statistics. As someone who fell victim to that when he picked Boston against Miami, I promise I won’t let that happen again. Six Heat players have double-digit averages in the Boston series, including Martin and Robinson off the bench.

Could Miami somehow be better without Herro? Defensively, there are no weak links to hunt. I wonder how the Heat plans to defend Denver’s two-man game of Jokic and Jamal Murray. You could go with Bam Adebayo and Butler, but that’s going to be extremely taxing on Butler having to deal with Jokić when he posts.

Butler is an excellent defender, but he can’t get into trouble because he’s the fulcrum of the team’s offense. Will Spoelstra unleash the zone again? Well, the Nuggets have nine days to prepare.

Denver, meanwhile, can switch between Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and even Bruce Brown on Butler.

We’ll know a lot about this series after Game 1. The Heat have won six consecutive Game 1s dating back to last season, winning three in a row to reach the Finals in the bubble in 2020.

Another note to remember: Denver’s home field advantage is negated with an extra day off between almost every game in the series.

I eventually keep coming up with the Nuggets to win it the more I drill into every corner. Never underestimate the heart of a champion, so look for Miami to give Denver all they can handle, but the Nuggets will prevail in the end.

You can bet on the Nuggets to win the series, but the juice is heavy. If you’re looking for a bet with a nice return, take Denver to win in Game 7.

SELECT: Nuggets (+350 at time of pick; currently +425, bet $10 to win $52.50 total) to win in seven games
SELECT: Nuggets (-360 at time of pick, currently -1000, bet $10 to win $11 total) to win the title

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