NBA Championship Odds and Picks: Who Can Really Win in 2023?

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The NBA Conference Finals have already started, with the Denver Nuggets taking game 1 of the Western Final against the LA Lakers. It’s always important to get that first win in a series, but it’s not always an indicator of how things will play out. The same rules apply in the Eastern Conference, where the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat will be squaring off in a best-of-7 series. I believe that it’s more than a little fair to say that this is not the final four that most people expected, as the Lakers and Heat are both proving to be surprise packages this postseason. If you are planning on wagering NBA on the team to win it all now, you have a one in four chance, but which way should you go? Let’s take a look and see.

Forget the Odds, which team will win the 2023 NBA Championship?

Boston Celtics (+102)

Of the 4 teams still in with a shot at winning the NBA Championship, it is the Celtics who ended the season with the best record, finishing up at 57-25. You only need to look at how things have gone this postseason to understand that regular season records don’t count for much once the postseason rolls around. Boston was forced to work very hard to knock off the Atlanta Hawks in 6 games in the opening round, and then came from 3-2 down to beat the 76ers in the last round. They won 10 more games in the East than the Heat, but they split the 4-game regular season series with Miami. I am just not totally sold on this team.

Bet Celtics to Win
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Denver Nuggets (+166)

As we mentioned at the top of this piece, the Nuggets are off to a solid start in the Western Conference Final, taking Game 1 by a score of 132-126. The Lakers made things exciting at the end by going on a late run after being down by 20+ points several times in the game. It’s the 3rd straight series in which the Denver Nuggets have gone out and won the opening game, but will that translate to the same success that they saw in the opening 2 round? My guess is that it will. As good as the Lakers have been coming down the stretch, and in the playoffs, they still look overmatched here. The Nuggets are also 19-11 in games versus the East, which I think bodes well for them on their way to a championship.

Bet Nuggets to Win
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LA Lakers (+500)

It has been a long hard road for the Lakers to get to this point, starting with a successful showing in the play-in tournament. They were a team that no one wanted to face in the postseason given the momentum they built coming down the stretch, and things have certainly played out that way, as they have taken out a pair of higher seeds to get here. All good things come to an end eventually, which is what I think happens with the Lakers here.

Bet Lakers to Win
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Miami Heat (+1500)

Let’s imagine for a moment that the Heat spring another surprise, just like they did in Round 1 when they ousted the Milwaukee Bucks, and make it past the Celtics. Do we still think that they have one more surprise up their sleeves in the NBA Finals? They were good against the West in the regular season, going 20-10, but it all seems a little too implausible for them to win it all.

Bet Heat to Win
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?