NBA Finals betting guide: Nuggets-Heat odds, prop bets and key terms
The NBA Finals have arrived in Denver for the first time and along with that comes all kinds of excitement, pomp and circumstance, media coverage and, of course, gambling opportunities.
As sports gambling continues to proliferate in the United States, hoops fans and casual observers alike will see a raft of advertising, sponsorship and array of wagers to be made around the Finals.
Here’s some betting information ahead of Game 1 between the Nuggets and Miami Heat on Thursday night. Bottom line: In both the game and the series, Denver is a heavy betting favorite.
Series odds
Favorite: Nuggets -400
Underdog: Heat +310
* Odds are via DraftKings as of Wednesday morning.
Game 1 Odds
Money Line: Nuggets -390 / Heat +310
Spread: Nuggets -9 (-106) / Heat +9 (+114)
Point total: 219.5 (-110)
* Odds are sportsbook consensus provided by vegasinsider.com as of Wednesday morning
NBA Finals prop bets
Jokic’s stellar run continues: Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is the runaway favorite to win NBA Finals MVP, but he’s not the only candidate. Currently, Jokic checks in at -350 to win the award, according to BetMGM. After him, Miami’s Jimmy Butler is +350 and Denver’s Jamal Murray is +1200.
Top scorer: Jokic, not surprisingly, is also the favorite to lead all scorers in Game 1, but not by as wide a margin as the MVP race. He checks in currently via FanDuel Sportsbook at +160. Other candidates to lead the pack Thursday night include Butler (+185) and Murray (+220) before bigger reaches like Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. and Miami’s Bam Adebayo at +3300 each.
Triple-double machine: Jokic is averaging 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists through the first three rounds of the playoffs. The odds he will average a triple-double in the finals is -120, according to Caesars Sportsbook.
A sweep upcoming?: How long will the series last? You can bet on that, too, naturally. FanDuel has the Nuggets at +450 to sweep. It has the most likely outcome pegged, based on implied odds, as Denver finishing the job in five games (+210). Bettors can also get the Heat in six games at +900 or in a sweep at +4800.
Rare heights: Former Lakers star Elgin Baylor is the only player in NBA history to top 60 points in a Finals game when he scored 61 against Boston in 1962. Caesars puts the odds at +6,000 that someone will reach 60 in a game this series. That said, three players — Butler, Jokic and Murray — have topped the 50-point mark previously in the playoffs.
Key terms
Odds: The betting favorite will have a minus (-) in front of the total money needed to risk in order to win $100. A betting underdog will have a plus (+) in front as the total money you’ll win for every $100 risked. Example: If betting on the Nuggets to win the title at -400, you must wager $400 to win $100 — plus your $400 bet back — for a total payout of $500. There are several betting calculator services available online.
Money line: A wager on a team’s odds to win the game outright. Example: The Nuggets are -390 to win Game 1, so a winning $10 bet would result in winnings of $2.56 and a payout of $12.56. A winning $10 bet on Miami at +330 would result in winnings of $33 and a payout of $43.
Team prop bets: A wager that predicts how a specific team will perform. Example: Common bets in this category are team points total (114.5 for the Nuggets in Game 1) and margin of victory.
Parlay: A series of wagers tied into one bet that the bettor must win all of in order to collect. Example: In Game 1, DraftKings has a same-game parlay featuring the Nuggets money line (Denver winning by any margin) and Nikola Jokic recording a triple-double that pays out at +110.