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THE MIAMI HEAT beat the odds of reaching the 2020 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals, and they will have to do it again to win their first title in seven years.
The Los Angeles (LA) Lakers are huge favorites at the sportsbooks, with SportsBetting.com setting them up at -400 and the Heat at +320 to win the series.
The Lakers entered the playoffs that are expected to compete with their Los Angeles rival, the Clippers, to represent the Western Conference against the Milwaukee Bucks in the final. However, the field narrowed significantly when the Clippers and Bucks retired in the semifinals in their respective divisions.
The Heat were in the middle of the Eastern conference group as the No. 5 seed and were not expected to be much of a threat behind the Bucks, reigning champion Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics. After sweeping the Indiana Pacers to open the postseason, the Heat lost just three games combined by eliminating the Bucks (4-1) and Celtics (4-2).
Miami is the third-lowest seed to reach the NBA Finals since 1984 and this is the first final meeting between teams that missed the postseason the previous year.
The series’ lowest odds on SportsBook.com are the Lakers winning in five games. Series scoring probabilities:
Lakers 4-1: +275; Lakers 4-2: +333; Lakers 4-0: +350; Lakers 4-3: +500; Heat 4-3: +750; Heat 4-2: +1100; Heat 4-1: +2000; Heat 4-0: +6600.
The series ending in five games either way is offered at +225 according to the book, followed by six games (+225), seven games +300, and four games (+325).
The NBA Finals begin on Wednesday, with the Lakers as the “home team” in the bubble near Orlando. Los Angeles was installed as a five-point favorite by SportsBook.com and DraftKings, with the over-under for Game 1 set at 217.5 points by both books.
The DraftKings ending was receiving 80 percent of total bets, while 64 percent of Game 1 bets were on the Lakers winning by more than five points.
Lakers star LeBron James admitted he was “angry” for finishing second to Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo in the regular season MVP race, but is the favorite to take home the Finals award. .
Already a three-time NBA Finals MVP winner, DraftKings offers James a -106 to take home the award this year, followed by teammate Anthony Davis (+200). Heat star Jimmy Butler is third at +800, followed by teammates Bam Adebayo (+1100) and Goran Dragic (+2000). – Reuters
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