The Miami Heat have proven they can beat the Denver Nuggets and ensure a competitive NBA Finals. But can the Heat win the NBA championship?
No doubt, the Heat are thinking more about ensuring a Game 3 home win on Wednesday after stealing Game 2 on the road to tie the series, 1-1. Nonetheless, Game 3 in the NBA Finals has often signaled the series’ direction. When the Finals features a 1-1 tie, the winner of Game 3 has won the series 32 out of 40 times (80%).
First things first. Miami and Denver will compete in Game 3. To prepare for that, here's our full Game 3 preview with odds provided by our presenting sponsor – Betfred Sportsbook.
Denver Nuggets at Miami Heat (Wednesday, 5:30 pm ET, ABC)
Spread: Denver (-2.5)
Over/under: 214.5
In most circumstances, the Heat would be favored in this scenario.
Miami has a 5-2 home post-season record and has won Game 3 at home in all of its previous playoff series. The Heat have rediscovered their shooting form, while finding some defensive solutions with mitigating the Nuggets’ offensive depth. And as an eighth seed, the Heat have already overachieved with blending their competitiveness, resiliency and team chemistry together.
Still, the Nuggets will win Game 3 because they have superior depth and will treat this contest as a potential elimination game. As much as the Heat deserves credit for their Game 2 adjustments and competitiveness, the Nuggets also lost partly because they didn’t match Miami’s intensity.
Expect that to change after Nuggets coach Michael Malone called his players out publicly. Denver will also ensure its offensive production does not mostly fall on center Nikola Jokic. When Jokic has scored at least 40 points as he did in Game 2, the Nuggets have gone 0-3 in the playoffs. The Nuggets had a 3-1 regular-season record when Jokic logged such numbers, but teams have more playoff success when they have more balance. Prepare for the Nuggets’ supporting cast to rise to the occasion as they often have.
Final score prediction: Nuggets 108, Heat 105
Betting Pick: Denver (-2.5)
Mark Medina is a veteran NBA reporter who will be contributing to Aaron Torres Online and Aaron Torres Media throughout the NBA playoffs - follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
To get full odds on the entire NBA Playoffs visit Betfred Sportsbook
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