The 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat will get going Thursday night from Colorado on ABC.
In no way is this the Finals matchup most predicted at the start of the playoffs. After all, Miami was the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and needed to get through the NBA Play-In Tournament to even earn a spot in the playoffs.
Miami’s story is by now well known. It pulled off an historic upset over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. After taking out the New York Knicks in the conference semifinals, Jimmy Butler and Co. avoided blowing a 3-0 series lead to the Boston Celtics by winning Game 7 on the road Monday night.
No stranger to being underdogs, the Heat find themselves in that position once again in taking on a Nuggets team that boasted the best record in the Western Conference during the regular year.
According to Bet MGM, the Nuggets find themselves at -400 to win their first NBA title. Meanwhile, Miami is at +310 heading into Game 1 Thursday night.
This means that a $100 bet on the Miami Heat to win against Denver would net you $410.00. On the other hand, a $100 bet on Denver would result in a mere $25.00 winnings.
For comparison’s sake, both the Heat and Nuggets found themselves with +1400 to win the NBA Finals when the 2022-23 season started back in October.
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Denver Nuggets not overlooking the Miami Heat
As just the second No. 8 seed to earn a trip to the NBA Finals, it stands to reason that the Heat would be underdogs. But given how Erik Spoelstra’s squad has perform in the NBA Playoffs, there’s absolutely no reason for Denver to overlook them.
“This is going to be the biggest challenge of our lives. This is the NBA Finals. You’re trying to win the first NBA championship in franchise history, and it’s going to be the hardest thing that we’ve ever done — which is the way it should be,” Denver Nuggets’ Michael Malone on facing the Miami Heat.
Denver ran roughshod through Western Conference competition en route to the Finals. It boasted a 12-3 record, ultimately sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals.
Nikola Jokic played at an otherworldly level during the Nuggets’ playoff run, averaging a triple-double (29.9 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 10.3 APG). Jamal Murray is averaging nearly 28 points per game this thus far in postseason.
As for Miami, its path to the NBA Finals was a bit less conventional. While the Heat did post a 12-6 record in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, they nearly became the first team to a blow a 3-0 series lead. Miami’s shocking blowout win over Boston in Game 7 put an end to that.
Jimmy Butler and Co. now head into Thursday’s Game 1 riding the momentum of an eye-opening road win against one of the finalists last season. Denver knows full well what it is up against here.
“For those who are thinking that this is going to be an easy series, I don’t even know what to say to you people,” Malone said on Tuesday.