NBA Finals Preview: Breaking Down Odds for Heat vs. Nuggets, Starting June 1, 2023

The Miami Heat avoided a 3-0 collapse on Monday night by going into Boston and absolutely handling the Celtics. After a shaky start, Miami got hot from deep and didn’t look back. They will now be representing the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals, with Game 1 tipping off on Thursday.

The Denver Nuggets have had about a week’s worth of rest after they swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. They’ll face Jimmy Butler in the Heat with home-court advantage to start.

Let’s break down where the betting odds stand right now for this series.

Series Betting:

The Denver Nuggets open up as heavy favorites to win the finals, as they’re a whopping -360 to beat the Miami Heat in this series. Denver was absolutely dominant in the West after taking down the likes of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker in ten total games.

Those are certainly high odds to pay, so it’s fair to assume many will turn to spread betting on a game-by-game basis. Take a look at the breakdown from different sportsbooks on the series odds below. Using OddsJam, I am able to see the odds from every sportsbook in my area to get the best value for my dollar when I do bet.

Right now, the best odds are being offered at Caesars and DraftKings if you are betting on the Nuggets. As for the Miami Heat, BetMGM and FanDuel are currently your best bet at +300.

Finals MVP

The Finals MVP is a two-man race between Nikola Jokic and Jimmy Butler. The top of the order in finals MVP odds between these two is very similar to the odds above for outright winner of the series. This is predictable, as it’s a star-driven league and it’s very likely the MVP goes to one of these two.

However, there are some other intriguing bets. Perhaps Jamal Murray, who was sensational against the Lakers, puts up a solid case for MVP. He’s currently listed around +1000, which could lead to a very nice payout.

Take a look at the finals MVP odds below:

As always, make sure you are using OddsJam to find the best odds when you are betting, especially for futures bets. Different sportsbooks can often have varying odds and you want to be maximizing your profit. For example, Jamal Murray to win MVP is +800 at Caesars and +2000 at DraftKings at the time of writing. You’d be selling yourself short on $1,200 if you placed $100 for him to win at Caesars.

Game 1 Odds:

Unsurprisingly, Denver opens up as large favorites in Game 1 at home. They’ve been resting for over a week and get to open up at Ball Arena, where they have yet to lose a playoff game.

Miami is coming off an extremely hard-fought series against the Celtics in which they were up 3-0 and ultimately had to take seven games to close it out. There is definitely a significant difference in health and rest between these two teams.

Denver’s average odds to win Game 1 are -366 and are close to double-digit favorites are some sportsbooks. The oddsmakers are certainly expecting a large Nuggets victory this Thursday.

Take a look at the current Game 1 odds below: