After winning 12 of 15 playoff games against the Pacers, the Celtics, and the top-seeded Bucks, the Heat don’t consider themselves underdogs in the NBA Finals, Jimmy Butler told reporters today (Twitter link via Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group). However, oddsmakers disagree.
At BetOnline.ag, the Lakers are considered -325 favorites to win the series, meaning you’d have to risk $325 to earn $100 on a Lakers championship. The Heat, on the other hand, are +270 underdogs — risking $100 would result in a $270 profit if Miami pulls off the upset.
Despite the Heat’s impressive postseason run, it’s not hard to see why they won’t enter the NBA Finals as the favorites to take home the 2020 title. They were the East’s No. 5 seed, and while Butler and Bam Adebayo are All-Stars, they haven’t put together the sort of superstar résumés that Anthony Davis and especially LeBron James have.
Miami’s rotation also includes a rookie (Tyler Herro) and a second-year forward (Duncan Robinson) who had logged 161 total minutes in the NBA before this season. It remains to be seen how they’ll perform on the league’s biggest stage. And while Andre Iguodala has been championship-tested, the former Finals MVP isn’t exactly in his prime anymore at age 36.
James and Davis, meanwhile, have led the Lakers to a 12-3 playoff record, never facing a serious threat in the first three rounds from Portland, Houston, or Denver. Their supporting cast isn’t outstanding, but that group – which includes Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Markieff Morris, and Alex Caruso – has consistently featured at least one or two guys stepping up at the right time throughout the postseason so far.
Still, the Lakers aren’t infallible. While their defense has been strong, their offense can get stagnant at times, and the resilient Heat are capable of making them pay for mistakes. James and Davis will be a handful, but the Heat have a handful of talented defenders capable of making them work for their points, including Butler, Iguodala, Adebayo, and Jae Crowder.
What do you think? Are you sticking with the odds-on favorites from Los Angeles and predicting LeBron will win his fourth championship? Or do you think the Heat will knock off a higher seed for a fourth consecutive round and complete their improbable run to a 2020 title?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
“superstar résumés of Anthony Davis”
What exactly is his resume? Not playoffs!
He has already played in more postseason games this year than the rest of his 7-year career in New Orleans combined where he won just a single playoff series. So pretty much his entire resume is from this season. And let’s not forget that LBJ is just 18-31 in the Finals as well.
Hardens career playoff record, 66-62.. 1 finals appearance.. 22-19 with thunder with 1 finals loss to lebron James heat.. so with rockets, 44-43.. russel Westbrook. 54 wins- 52 losses..this includes playing with harden, ibaka and kd on thunder.. since Kd left 3 first round exits and a 2nd round thrashing.. so harden had Chris Paul and Westbrook in Houston, Kd, ibaka and Westbrook in okc.. had harden in hou.. who did Ad have on pelicans? Oh he had nobody.. major difference in talent levels
@lakers1 this isn’t even taken into account that pelicans were usually the 7/8th seed playing gsw in first round each year with four all stars lol. Don’t mind this troll he is still bitter Houston won’t win another ring for a long time.
I feel sorry for that city..they are capped out, have no picks and are stuck with that small ball roster for foreseeable future.. Morey has ruined that team for foreseeable future. You Not only that, they won’t win but d howard will get a ring before there superstar harden.. harden pushed howard out..
AD has been a starter on a team that made the Finals before Harden.
Four times on the All-NBA First Team by age 27 is something that not many other players in NBA history have done.
+270 means you earn $170 profit on a $100 bet, not a $270 profit. You bet $100 and they pay you $270 if you win, your $100 back plus $170 profit.
The Heat odds are pretty decent from a betting perspective. +270 is about 27% chance of winning. The Lakers -325 puts them at about 76% chance to win. 3% is not a terribly big gap for the house.
Wait, they don’t give you the 270 and your hundred bucks back too?
I’m admittedly not a betting expert, but I’m pretty sure that’s not accurate. By that logic, on a +105 bet you’d be risking $100 to earn a $5 profit!
Luke don’t worry, sometimes it’s a positive thing to NOT be a gambling expert.
You’re right Luke, I was goofing around. From this link. link to bestonlinegambling.com
Example:
New York Yankees -115
Boston Red Sox -105
In this case, the Yankees are considered a very slight favorite. It would require a $115 bet on the Yankees to produce a $100 profit ($215 total return). The Red Sox would require a $105 bet to produce a $100 profit ($205 total return).
Since the yankees are favorites, why woundnt betting on the sox bring back a bigger profit?
It would bring back a bigger profit OR take less money to earn the same return. Six one way, half dozen the other.
Hopefully no one, they should call it off now. If I could have planned the absolute worst NBA final series at the start of the season then this would be it, roll on 2020-2021 season please.
Okay, well what would have been your ideal Finals matchup?
This is a great finals..many storylines.. lebron vs riley and Spoelstra.. will Lakers pull it out for kobe.. will lebron make history winning a ring for 3rd organization.. will riley give lebron a hug after series are over? Will skip bay less retire after lebron brings home #4? Will dwight howard return to old d howard after he wins his first ring?
Next poll – who do you WANT to win the finals?
Lakers in 5. People keep talking about bam locking up ad but lakers are gonna run Dwight at center. Bam is heats most valuable player so what will lakers do? Lebron, ad and Dwight will attack bam and get him in foul trouble and control the glass just like they did with nuggets. Heat are -5 with bam off the court. Nuggets who In my opinion were a deeper and better team than heat had a similar fate where Jokic was negated. Lakers are gonna kill this small ball heat team especially when you look at jimmy butler who’s supposedly their star despite not shooting well the entire playoffs.
Whats also scary is when they resign boogie this offseason and potentially add someone at wing or pg. Lakers are gonna have a potential dynasty
Javale has 4.1 million player option.. maybe that’s why they are pushing him out as starter.. aside from the bad play, boogie and dwight would be a nightmare for other teams.. boogie is skilled.. doesn’t rely on athleticism.. he will be back next year with a chip on his shoulder.
And What does “Lock up AD even mean? Is Bam gonna hold him to 27 instead of 30? I would love Miami to win, but I don’t see it.
I have seen many pundits stating that bam is as athletic and can guard 1-5 with long arms and explosive hops. This will disrupt ad and force him to be primarily an outside shooter and opposed to going inside for easy points.
Sadly though the same was said about Jokic who ended up being bullied and blown off court in nuggets series. Bam is heats best player and like Jokic I expect lakers to attack him and watch the rest of the heat fall to the side. I think celtics were a far scarier team face with how many 2 way players and scorers from all levels they had.
Also worth mentioning is that everyone anticipates that lakers will run “small ball” not sure why when if they play big they will dominate half court and eliminate second chance points for their opponents.
The only thing that destroys lakers in strong wings presence to eliminate lebron and rondo coupled with some form of elite 3 point shooting, as showcased in blazers and Houston’s game 1 wins. If you don’t shoot lights out you don’t get second chances because lakers are simply to big inside.
Agreed 100%.. bam may try to play bully ball but howard will bully him right back.. they try to play that zone, guess what, we just drive to the basket.. Boston did that with success In 2 wins but went back to chucking 3’s and lost..
They went back to chucking threes because that’s how you beat a Zone. Outside shooting. Celtics were successful at first but it takes four games to win a series and a smart team with a smart coach adjusts the zone or adjusts the offense or whatever. Adjustments are made. Point being Lakers can’t shoot outside consistently. Heat in 7.
Who is gonna guard lebron? Or ad.. crowder struggled 3 pt shooting.. bam gets into foul trouble.. there is nobody on that team that scares me.. lakers beat this team twice in regular season.. That’s regular season.. playoff lebron steps Up.. so if Ad and lebron scores 51 pts in both games, what is playoff lebron and Ad gonna put up..
Also, the Miami 2-3 zone where where 2 guards up front and 3 guarding basket actually opens up seams to the basket.. it exposes the weakness of the open corner 3 and also allows clear drives to the basket.. Lakers adjusted to heat 2/3 zone.. ad in high post at top of key draws them to him opens up high lob to corner on cutting player or player under basket.. Zone also allows a lot of offensive rebounds and with the lakers being the bigger team, Ad, howard, Morris will have a field day.. It all falls on lebron will outsmart them. Bam is 6’9 with 7’1 wingspan. AD IS 6’10 with 7’6 wingspan.. lebron 6’9 with 7 wingspan.Dwight 6’11 with 7’5 wingspan
Don’t forget playoff rondo. Dude steals the ball like a mf
I know many LeBron haters Will say Miami Heat but you need to look at the facts. In three playoff series against Portland, Houston and Denver the Lakers are 12-3. They have been on math unchallenged unchallenged winning every series 4-1. There is one main reason for that Anthony Davis is a matchup nightmare for any team and just when you think you got it all figured out here comes LeBron James. They have combined for over 60 points per game in the postseason and that is not going to change. While I believe it will take more than five games for the Lakers to win this one I don’t see it going 7 Lakers in six games and LeBron makes history leading a third franchise to the NBA title
Wishful thinking. Lakers are made up of soft cushy types. Any adversity and they cave. Miami is built on grit and toughness and defense not Flash and Glitz. I think the lunch pail group will take this in the end.
Lakers have championship experience. And 2 top 5 players.. 7 Total lakers have either won a ring or went to finals..heat have 3 .. who’s gonna guard lebron or Ad? Bam gets into foul trouble, olynyk gonna step up.. lebron is on a mission.. heat may have looked good but they have yet to face a team like lebron and AD.. playoff rondo.. Danny green wins titles.vogel makes adjustments.. they can bully you or they can small ball you..Herro isn’t dropping 37 on lakers
Howard gets in foul trouble a lot more often than bam does. Then who’s your Center? JaVale McGee? I agree LeBron’s on a mission and I’m not saying the Lakers suck. They’re amazing and it’s a well-built team ready for this time. They have an incredible combination of experience and grit as well. They’re no slouch.
I’m just going with the heat because I think Erik Spoelstra is an outstanding coach and I think the heat are well-built as well. The Lakers can stop the outside shot, but they can’t stop ALL the shooters. Jimmy Butler is on a mission as well. He’s just as much a bull as LeBron is just hasn’t received the Press. Sure he’s two inches shorter and 40 lb lighter but I think he’ll get it done. In any case it’ll be exciting.
This time around I voted Lakers, but I’ll be cheering Heat.
Going to be a great series but it’ll come down to crunch time when LeBron misses his free throws, Dwight’s on the bench fouled out, Anthony Davis has 45 points and two rebounds, and Alex Caruso and Danny Green are called upon to carry the team. That’s not going to get it done. HEAT IN 7
Who is gonna guard lebron? Or ad.. crowder struggled 3 pt shooting.. bam gets into foul trouble.. there is nobody on that team that scares me.. lakers beat this team twice in regular season.. That’s regular season.. playoff lebron steps Up.. so if Ad and lebron scores 51 pts in both games, what is playoff lebron and Ad gonna put up..
Jimmy Butler will guard LeBron – but the Heat rotate defense a lot, of LBJ will get a taste for 3-4 different defenders.
Bam gets into some foul trouble, but he’s a force inside, and Dwight has been playing a foul a minute against Denver.
No single player on the Heat may stand out to you, but the LAL match up against Bam, Dragic, Herro, Robinson/Crowder can’t make you feel very confident either – no matter how much you love Caruso and Green.
Dwight was physically intimidating to Jokic.. Dwight will do the dirty work down low and impose his will to the point where bam will get frustrated just like jokic.. it’s the Rodman effect.. they have javale to absorb fouls. Lebron carves up Jimmy Butler.. lebron is too strong for him.. nobody can guard Ad.. the lakers will carve up there 2-3 zone.. danny green has been there.. That is why they signed him.. Duncan Robinson and Herro gonna show up with the game on the line. Pretty tall order to expect 2 rookies to show out.lakers also have one of the top defensive teams in the nba.. to go along with one of the top rated offenses.. Lakers have top rated offense And defense in playoffs.. rockets and nuggets were two of the top perimeter shooting teams in nba.. lakers beat them handily
Lakers beat a terrible Rockets team there’s no denying that, and the Nuggets were two man squad unless you’re counting Gary Harris and jerami Grant as stars LOL. Plumlee, 35 year old Paul Millsaps? Definitely a two-man team. In fact the Nuggets third-best player was a guy who hasn’t played in three years.
The Lakers have beaten no one. This is their first test actually. In fact the Celtics would beat the Lakers if they were here.
Not scared of journeyman crowder or Duncan Robinson.. crowder was ice cold and Robinson showed up every other game.. bam plays inside so unlike jokic who can hit out side and is much more skilled than bam, laker centers will be guarding the basket..no open lanes and with length will out rebound heat.. howard and ad are Also taller and have bigger wingspan.. bam will get beat up under the basket.. let’s face it, dragic got his vs a terrible defender in kemba.. kcp and Danny green are much better Perimeter defenders.. Bam is solid but Boston big men werent exactly world beaters.. theis and kanter.. howard and Morris play physical. Have the heat played a team that will muscle them.. bucks no, celtics no .. lakers are a top defensive team..they are also a top offensive team.. lebron will be playing with a chip in his shoulder.. he doesn’t forget what riley said when he left. lakers in 6
Who’s the incredible one-on-one shot-maker that’s going to save LeBron this time as Kyrie did the last time he won? Anthony Davis? Sure he made an amazing shot last week at the last second but you think he can do that again? Neither do I.
You’ve watched LeBron as much as I have and sure he’ll come up with an amazing Block near the end of the game but he really isn’t known for the incredible end of the game shot making skill. He must rely on someone else for that. So for that role, the Lakers have Anthony Davis and…. ?
I would actually say lebron James block are end of game 7 won them the game but you aren’t obviously a lebron hater
Sorry I meant on offense.
Who will take the shot on the heat? Herro seems to be that guy but the kid is just a kid.. Lakers have many players that are t afraid to take the last shot.. AD, Kuzma, Danny green, rondo.. even caruso.. jr Smith isn’t scared of the moment.. so it’s not a question of not having someone else to make the shot.. it’s who is set up to take the best high pct shot..
Lebron did carry the heat to there 2 championships.. carried them.. butler will look like a total clown.. he may be the heat superstar but hers not even top 10 player in nba.. lakers have 2 top 5.. not to mention lakers beat heat both games during season as a preview..
Everyone on the face of the planet knows LeBron is capable of missing 3 or 4 free throws in the fourth quarter of a big game. Book it. He’s not Michael Jordan nor Kobe Bryant not even Steph Curry when it comes to doing something amazing at the end of a huge game.
Miami Heat, your 2020 NBA champions. You might want to take a screenshot of this. Impress your friends, win some money, get a new girlfriend, maybe even win a new car. It’s the biggest no-brainer in the history of mankind.
I guess According to you, history will be broken.. lakers started there 80’s dynasty winning 79-80 vs Sixers
Shaq kobe dynasty 1999-2000 season and now what do you know, 2019-2020 the start of a new era of championships.. riley will never when a ring as long as lebron is playing..
Big fan of the Heat and will be rooting like hell for them but cmon, you can’t believe what you wrote here. LeBron has proven time and again he’s a big time player, an all time great, and put him together with AD and it’s going to be an uphill climb. Tell me you like how the Heat play as a team, their deadly outside shooters, Bam, Jimmy’s leadership, and yeah, it gives them a shot. I just hope Spoelstra uses personnel as he did in game 6 rather than he did earlier. He can’t afford to fall asleep with big guns on the bench
Not respecting Duncan may have caused Boston’s slow start. There may be nobody on the court more closely guarded.
Lakers can organize an attack or shape their defense because of Lebron’s leadership. Teammates follow him. Miami has been innovative but relying on coaches is less spontaneous. I hope they still do their forwards-up 2-3, to see what Bron does about it.
Miami shortened their rotation as is normal but I wonder if that’s best. They lost some aggressiveness, some comin’atcha knowing the sub will too.
As it stands, bringing Caruso off the bench may make the Laker’s bench best, weaving through that 2-3. I assume Dwight will start.
Big improvement over last year, with the injured Warriors and mercenary Kawhi. Should have been Houston’s year. At least Lowry got his shot if not Harden & Paul.
I want the Heat to win mainly because they are the underdogs and I like the way they play. But I’m by no means a Lakers or LeBron hater, and I will be glad for James if he manages to win his 4th ring. But I cannot help it: if the Lakers lose I’ll also be happy for all these Lakers fans that boast all around like “the Lakers are unbeatable”, “they are going to destroy the Heat”, “You cannot guard LeBron and AD”, etc. It so annoying, and it does not happen with any other team.
But that is the point AD is the best player in the league & is unstoppable, all the same if people says it or not, right?