The Nuggets became notorious for their road struggles during the regular season, oftentimes serving as the focal point of debate surrounding this team in regards to title chances, but they’ve been so great at home throughout the playoffs that they’ve managed to skate by with very few meaningful road games down the stretch. The Nuggets have posted a record of 23-25 on the road this year, which includes a similarly mediocre tally of 4-3 in the playoffs, and they’re about to step foot in a hornets’ nest against a Heat’ team that’s 6-2 with the third-best net rating at home this postseason. Personally, I’m not interested in fading Miami at the moment, especially given how this Denver’ team tends to perform away from their home arena. So, why does the wide majority still act like this is some type of fluke? Prior to the first round of the playoffs, the Bucks were favored to win the title at +240, and the Celtics had the second-best odds on the board at +370 – and the Heat beat both of those teams fair and square. Whereas, Miami had much larger obstacles in its path. 4 Suns in six games, a very talented team, but still a team trying to gain traction after being completely reassembled at the trade deadline. 7 Lakers with relative ease, and they beat the No. The Nuggets took care of business against the No. 7 Los Angeles in the conference finals round, before finally receiving an overload of respect in the pre-series market against Miami (-480).ĭenver isn't on some type of magical run, though. 4 Phoenix in their second round matchup, and then relatively slim -150 favorites against No. They were listed as +120 underdogs against No. Bettors have doubted the Nuggets all postseason. Quite frankly, Denver’s current series price is where the line should've originally opened in the first place. underperformed for Denver in Game 2, but in the grand scheme of things, how much better could the Nuggets have actually played? The truth of the matter is, the Heat stepped up to the challenge and outplayed Denver on its homecourt, plain and simple, which is suddenly a concerning notion for the oddsmakers as they’ve trimmed down the Nuggets’ series price from -800 to -270 heading into Game 3. Sure, it’s fair to point out the fact that Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Unfortunately for Denver, though, the Heat have transformed into a completely different team since the second round of the Play-In Tournament, highlighted by Miami ranking 1st in three-point percentage and 3rd in offensive rating since the opening round of the playoffs, while continuing to put forth an elite level of defensive play.Īnd for the most part, that’s the version of this Miami’ team that showed up in Game 2, as the Heat shot 49% from the field and knocked down 17-of-35 three-point attempts on the way to a 111-108 victory on Sunday night, despite Jimmy Butler scoring just 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting prior to the fourth quarter, and as a team, playing relatively mediocre defense throughout. As a team, they shot 52% from the field and 39% from long-range, primarily carried by Nikola Jokic scoring 41 points on 16-of-28 shooting, which in theory, should be more than enough to outlast a Miami’ team that ranked 25th in offensive rating during the regular season. Truth be told, the Nuggets actually posted solid numbers in Game 2. Well, just like clockwork, in a fourth straight series that Miami’s been tagged as a steep underdog, the Heat have ventured into hostile territory and given their opponent a wakeup call in one of their first two road matchups, as the Heat managed to steal Game 1 on the road to kick off sets against Milwaukee, New York, and Boston and to the surprise of many, they pulled off a similar feat in their latest affair by handing Denver its first home loss of the postseason in Game 2. The Heat are 7-2 ATS in their last nine home games.
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