- The Los Angeles Lakers are 5.5-point favorites over the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
- The Miami Heat are listed at +275 odds to win the NBA Finals.
- The O/U for Game 1 of the Finals is 218 points.
- The Lakers and Heat have each only lost three games in the NBA Playoffs thus far.
MIAMI – The matchup for the 2020 NBA Finals has been set as the Miami Heat bounced the Boston Celtics from the bubble in six games and will now face the Los Angeles Lakers.
This will be a physical series featuring two coaches familiar with each other as Lakers head coach Frank Vogel and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra have battled in the Eastern Conference Finals when Vogel was the overseer of the Indiana Pacers.
The Lakers did win both regular season games against the Heat, but those games were early in the season and the makeup of both teams has changed since then.
LA Lakers Journey To The Finals:
- 1st Round – Def. Portland Trail Blazers (4-1)
- 2nd Round – Def. Houston Rockets (4-1)
- 3rd Round – Def. Denver Nuggets (4-1)
The Lakers have been without starting guard Avery Bradley since the NBA restart in the bubble and have had to lean on Rajon Rondo and Alex Caruso to play big minutes at the guard position in the playoffs.
The Lakers have shown why they’ve been at the front of the championship odds board for most of the season as they’ve run through the Western Conference with ease en route to the franchise's 32nd NBA Finals appearance.
Miami Heat Journey To The Finals:
- 1st Round – Def. Indiana Pacers (4-0)
- 2nd Round – Def. Milwaukee Bucks (4-1)
- 3rd Round – Def. Boston Celtics (4-2)
Miami has drastically changed their roster since the last time they faced the Lakers as they’ve added Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala via trade with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Kendrick Nunn is no longer in the starting lineup.
The Heat have also placed the ball in their young players' hands more as Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro have been confident in big moments for the team.
The ascension of All-Star “Point Center” Bam Adebayo has been one of the biggest factors propelling the Heat into the NBA Finals. The case can be made that the Heat had a much tougher path to the Finals than the Lakers considering they had to knock off the Bucks led by MVP/DPOY Giannis Antetokounmpo and a talented Celtics team.
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This is all without mentioning the Heat’s heart and soul Jimmy Butler who has kept this team focused throughout the postseason.
USA online sportsbooks has the Lakers as heavy favorites to capture the team's 17th NBA Championship but it won’t be easy to knock off a Heat team that is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the NBA Bubble.
NBA Finals Odds:
- Miami Heat +275
- Los Angeles Lakers -350
NBA Finals Game 1 Preview
NBA bettors know not to count the Heat out, as being underdogs is nothing new to them since they’ve found themselves in this position most of the season.
Game 1 – 9 p.m. EST:
- Moneyline: LAL -220 vs. MIA +180
- Spread: Lakers -5.5
- O/U: 218
Best Bet for Game 1: Lakers SU (-220). The best bet for Game 1 is to take the Lakers on the moneyline as the first game will be important to understanding how these team’s matchup with one another.
The Lakers have the advantage in talent, but the Heat are the deeper team. Game 1 will be close but expect the Lakers to edge out the Heat.
History sides with the Lakers here as they have a 6-1 record against the Heat in their last seven games.
As a professional sports writer, Robert has written for outlets such as the FAMUAN and other sports-centric platforms. He focuses mainly on NFL and NBA betting, though he keeps tabs on every major sport.
