Well ladies and gentlemen, the long wait has finally ended. The third game of the NBA Finals is set to be played on Wednesday night in Miami. After stunning Denver on their home floor with a late surge in the second contest, the series shifts to South Beach for the next couple of days. The back-and-forth has been exciting to see, with Denver hitting first initially, and then Miami coming out strong in the one that followed.
Watching Max Strus turn an 0-10 performance into four first-half threes was one of many things that went the way of the Heat. Caleb Martin decided to make a timely basket. Jimmy Butler made shots all throughout the contest. And then there was the Duncan Robinson mean mug, which did nothing to get under the skin of the hometown Nuggets. As the series is out of the altitude, this is the time to try and get closer to making history.
ODDS:
SPREAD: DEN -2.5
ML: DEN -145, MIA +120
O/U: 214.5
Denver Seeking Key Road Win
The Nuggets have gone 3-1 ATS In their past four. They haven’t lost many games, however. They dropped two against the Suns and one versus Minnesota before sweeping the Lakers to close up the conference finals in a hurry. All in all, they have gone 13-4 this postseason, proving an incredible level of dominance. Miami, for comparison purposes, is 13-7. They have taken a few additional games to close out teams.
They haven’t had to deal with a game 7 yet, but it is known how effective they are in those. The Nuggets won two of them back in the 2020 bubble following 3-1 series holes. Should the team struggle in the warmer climate and wind up with that hole again, it will be hard to predict exactly what follows suit. Just let your stars cook and you’ll always have that chance to come away with a win.
Miami Tries for 2-1 Lead
After starting out with a 3-0 lead on the Celtics in the last round, Miami has not had the same type of success against Denver. Of course, they are very different teams, with one of them not having the greatest player in the world running the offense. It took seven games for them to close it out however, as they were able to avoid the most historic meltdown in the history of the league.
When you have a Jimmy Butler type of player leading the way, he could get hot at any moment. The big shots drop when you most need them to, and he can communicate on both ends. The rigorous, grueling Heat culture is what has prepared the team to just keep running back and forth without ever quitting. The energy is on a 10, and the guys never seem too tired.
This is their best chance right now, to take a few at home. No eighth seed has ever won the chip.
HEAT WIN
The Heat will claim a victory at home to push to a 2-1 series lead. Bet on it.
PICK: HEAT +120
