Just last week, the Miami Heat were tied 3-3 heading into Game 7 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat’s odds for betting on the NBA Finals were set at +1400, a sure sign that Miami was going to lose to the Boston Celtics, who had just climbed out of a three-game cellar.
Miami is now tied at one game apiece in the 2023 NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets. They are facing their third top-rated NBA franchise in this year’s playoffs, as the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, and Denver Nuggets have all been the projected champion at some point.
Why aren’t the Heat getting any respect? Even after tying up the Finals, series prices still heavily favor the Nuggets.
2023 NBA Finals Series Prices
- Miami Heat +225
- Denver Nuggets -275
Tipoff of Game 3 of the NBA Finals begins tonight on ABC at 8:30 PM, with Miami’s Kaseya Center hosting this and the next contest. The Heat achieved the best-case scenario and split the series in Denver, but will splitting the series in South Beach be good enough?
First things first. Miami needs to go ahead and capture Game 3 from the Nuggets. Online NBA sportsbooks are suggesting they will drop tonight’s game by less than a 3-pointer at home.
NBA Finals Game 3 Betting Line
Denver Nuggets @ Miami Heat
- Point Spread: Nuggets -2.5, Heat +2.5
- Moneyline: Nuggets -140, Heat +120
- Over/Under: 214.5
The Heat are attempting to win their fourth NBA Finals since their formation in South Florida back in 1988. Their first NBA Championship was won in 2006 with the duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Dwayne Wade.
Wade was still around for the next two titles in 2012 and 2013, which were won alongside the remainder of the “big three,” consisting of LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
2023 marks the second time that the Heat have been led to the NBA Finals by their scrappy guard Jimmy Butler. In 2020, Miami lost the Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
Butler is now back in the Finals as an underdog, entering the NBA Playoffs as an eight-seed that lost their first play-in game to the Atlanta Hawks. Not looking back is perhaps what Miami does best, as their opportunistic roster relies on continued effort rather than worrying about the past.
Gamblers that have been monitoring the NBA odds throughout the postseason have seen the roller coaster ride that Miami has been on. The time to bet on the Heat to win it all was just before Game 7 in the Western Finals against Boston.
That opportunity has passed, however. So, if you’re going to bet on Miami to win, the odds are never going to be higher than right now unless they lose tonight. It is doubtful that there are many readers that believe they’ll win the series if they lose to Denver in Game 3, but be brave and wait if that’s what you think will happen.
- Yahoo! Sports
- The Atlantic
- 2023 NBA Finals Odds: Bovada (Bovada Sportsbook Review)
