NBA Finals 2020 Odds & Schedule: Underdog Miami Heat to Battle Lakers for Title
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat are headed to the NBA Finals 2020 at the Orlando bubble! On Sunday, Butler’s Heat squad ousted Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, and the Boston Celtics with a 125-113 victory. That kept Miami red hot in their home state and sets up an interesting matchup against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Here’s the latest on the matchup schedule and NBA Finals 2020 odds.
Heat considered long shots to win NBA Finals
It’s been a crazy season and year, to say the least, with the Heat now defying lots of expectations and reaching the NBA Finals. Before the coronavirus pandemic was even happening, Miami was as high as 110-1 to win the NBA title. Some books had them around 60-1 for NBA Championship odds.
Heading into the NBA restart at the bubble site in Orlando, they were 30-1 to win it all. Now they’re even closer to that goal but will have LeBron James and the Lakers standing in the way. That makes Miami major underdogs still.
That said, they’ve defied expectations every step of the way. The first-round sweep of the Indiana Pacers may not have been the biggest surprise, but their second-round elimination of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks was. Once they gained an overtime opening win against Boston and ultimately went up 3-1 it seemed inevitable they’d reach the Finals.
This year’s battle for the championship will feature LeBron going up against his former team with whom he won the most titles in his career. However, only head coach Erik Spoelstra remains from those days.
Miami now sports All-Star players Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo along with rising stars like Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson. In addition, veterans Goran Dragic and Andre Igoudala add plenty of experience as Miami continues this magical run.
NBA Finals 2020 odds and schedule
The NBA Finals officially tip off on Wednesday, September 30 from Orlando’s bubble site. Fans can watch on national television via ABC or live streaming online using the WatchESPN apps.
Here’s the complete schedule:
- Game 1: Wednesday, Sep. 30 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
- Game 2: Friday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
- Game 3: Sunday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
- Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
- Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. at 9 p.m. on ABC
- Game 5 (if necessary): Friday, Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. on ABC
- Game 6 (if necessary): Sunday, Oct. 11 on ABC
- Game 6 (if necessary): Tuesday, Oct. 13 on ABC
The Los Angeles Lakers make yet another trip to the NBA Finals, but this is the first time they’ll do it with LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the stars. LeBron joined the team two seasons ago but failed to get to the playoffs after an injury cost him a considerable stretch. The team brought in Davis this past offseason, one which saw COVID-19 shut down the season in March.
The league had a hiatus of several months before finally returning to action at the bubble site in Orlando, Florida. While some believe there will be an asterisk associated with this year’s champions, it’s certainly been a tough year overall and a tough battle to get to the championship round.
As of right now, FanDuel sportsbook has NBA Finals 2020 odds with the Lakers as five-point favorites in Game 1 or a money line price of -215. The Miami Heat are +180 underdogs to claim a Game 1 victory. Miami is also +290 to win the series, with the Lakers as -370 favorites to claim the title in Orlando.
Visit the Sports Odds Digest NBA page for more of the latest updates about the league and players.
