The Nuggets are one win away from the organization's first NBA Championship, and oddsmakers are prepared for Monday night to be the night.
Denver enters as massive favorites in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at home, where the team has lost one game all postseason. After winning both games in Miami to take a 3-1 series lead on the Heat, Denver will look to close out in five games.
How should we bet this potential close out game, can Denver win all four games by double digits en route to its first title?
Here are the odds:
Heat vs. Nuggets odds, spread and total
Heat vs. Nuggets prediction and pick
This series hasn't been all that close. The Nuggets have kept the Heat at arm's length for nearly the entirety of it, outside of a wild fourth quarter offensive performance from Miami that led to a Game 2 win. Overall, Denver is +36 in the four games.
The Nuggets offense has counters for Miami's wide array of defense. Nikola Jokic had a quiet game for his standards, and still poured in 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Nuggets role players, who had a terrible Game 3 collectively, stepped up in his place, namely Aaron Gordon, who had 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Emerging star Jamal Murray took the reigns as the primary ball handler and dished out 12 assists in the victory as the Nuggets finally opened up the floor to cash in from deep, hitting 14-of-28 shots from beyond the arc, easily the team's best three-point shooting game of the series.
After losing Game 2, the Denver defense has buckled down with running the Heat off the three-point line and forcing the team to settle for mid-range two point shots. Miami posted a 46% effective field goal percentage in Game 3 and Game 4 while the Nuggets stayed at an elite 56%. That difference is too hard to ignore moving forward.
Miami's offense has been solved as the team has been forced inside of the arc, which is a problem against an offense like Denver that can generate sound looks both inside and out with Jokic on the floor. Whether it is shots at the rim or open shooters around the perimeter, the Nuggets have everything clicking.
The numbers are staggering, and I see Denver making it a fourth double digit victory this series.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
