Nuggets vs Heat Betting Odds: Denver Feeling at Home in South Beach

Denver Reclaims Home Court Advantage

The Denver Nuggets were assertive in their Game 3 dominance as they reclaimed home court advantage with a 109-94 win. Let’s look ahead to Game 4 and see what the Nuggets vs Heat Betting Odds say for this crucial NBA Finals showdown.

The Nuggets responded to coach Mike Malone’s criticism surrounding their effort as they dominated the boards in Game 3 as they recorded a whopping 58-33 rebounding advantage. The visitors also pulled all the right strings defensively as they limited Miami to just 31.4% shooting from beyond the arc on 35 attempts.

There wasn’t a lot of positive for Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra to take away from this one aside from a much improved performance from star player Jimmy Butler. Butler finished with 28 points as he put forth his best offensive game of the series, but it mattered little in the end as he finished with a -11 net rating in his 40 minutes of court time.

Denver has opened as 3.0-point favorites for Game 4, while the total has been heavily adjusted at 211.0 points. Let’s have a look at our NBA expert picks to see where the best opportunities exist for bettors.

Still No Answers for Nikola Jokic

The two-time MVP continues to impress with each passing game this NBA season. Jokic was the first player in NBA Finals history to finish with a 30+/20+/10+ stat line as he recorded 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists.

Teammate Jamal Murray chipped in with a triple-double of his own as he finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on a night where the duo became the first players on the same team to record a triple-double in the NBA Finals.

Denver coach Mike Malone was also in awe of what the two put forward on the floor tonight. “By far, their greatest performance as a duo in their seven years together,” said Malone.

It’s Jokic’s play inside however that is most damning for Miami. Despite having one of the best defensive Centers in the league in Bam Adebayo they simply have no answers on how to stop the Serbian big man from getting whatever he wants in the paint.

His ability to read and react to Miami’s different defensive schemes is also causing coach Spoelstra headaches as there’s simply no hurrying or distracting him from being able to do what he wants at the pace he wants.

While that issue is likely to remain for the remainder of the NBA Finals there has to be a better answer in slowing Murray and the rest of Denver’s role players. Rookie Christian Braun finished with 15 points in 19 minutes off the bench and Aaron Gordon helped himself to 11 points in an efficient manner to match.

Butler spoke on the difficulties the Heat have at the moment in guarding the multiple scoring options Denver possesses, but know they are running out of time to do so.

“It’s not an easy task to do, but if we want to win we’re going to have to figure it out,” he said.

Stopping Denver from getting to the paint so easily has to be the main assignment.

The Nuggets finished 20-for-29 on shots at the rim in Game 3. Couple that with the fact they had a 39.3% offensive rebounding rate in the half court and its easy to see why Miami struggled to keep up.

Expect coach Spoelstra’s message to his team to be about effort and energy on defense. If they can play off misses they’ll give themselves the opportunity to find their open three’s in transition.

Nuggets vs Heat Betting Odds Best Bet

The Heat know they can and will shoot better from distance in Game 4, but that’s unlikely to be enough to sway momentum back their way in a meaningful manner. It’s also unlikely to do enough to elevate the overall scoring to clear this number.

Miami looked sluggish on defense and they know that a loss in Game 4 will all but end their championship aspirations.

Expect a big response from the Heat on that end of the floor, which should also transpire with a slower paced game than what we got in Game 3 as a result of the fourth quarter game script. Grab the Under 211.0 point early as this total is likely to move closer to 210.0 points by tip-off.

That’s all for our Nuggets vs Heat Betting Odds preview for Game 4. Make sure to check back ahead of Game 5 as we continue to help you stay ahead of the NBA markets.
Follow us on Twitter

Can’t get enough? Here’s more!

• Mercury vs Wings Betting Preview: Thrilling WNBA Showdown in Arlington on Wednesday
• Sun vs Aces Betting Odds: It’s an WNBA Title Rematch in Connecticut
• Sparks vs Mercury Betting Odds: Phoenix Looks To Avenge Opening Loss
• Aces vs Dream Betting Preview: Las Vegas Truly Looks “Super”
• Sun vs Lynx Betting Preview: Connecticut Holds Comfortable Edge