by AAA Sports
Monday, May 15, 2023No offense to the good folks in Miami and Denver, but at the NBA offices at 645 Fifth Ave. in New York City, the suits are quietly pulling for a ratings-bonanza Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers Finals – the winner of which would take, for at least 12 months, the lead in most championships won. They each have 17 pelts, although Celtics fans dispute the five Laker titles when the team dwelled in Minneapolis and append a huge asterisk to the 2020 Bubble title.
The Heat and Nuggets will each attempt to throw monkey wrenches into the league Dream Matchup, and Boston-LA is hardly a foregone conclusion. The Heat generally make life miserable for the Celtics, especially in party-central Miami, and the Nuggets were the best team in the Western Conference and a full 10 games better than strong-finishing LA.
That said, to the entrants:
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Miami Heat
To win ECF (+400)
To win title (+1400)
The Heat are heavy dogs against Boston, but they don’t go into this series unarmed. Bam Adebayo always seems to play well against the Celtics, Jimmy Butler has that familiar playoff fanaticism about him, Erik Spoelstra could coach circles around Joe Mazzulla, and Miami doesn’t seem to miss injured Tyler Herro in the least. That said, the Heat caught huge breaks when the Bucks spit the bit and the Knicks turned into pumpkins. Is it possible that the East’s 8 seed can catch lightning in a bottle for a third straight series?
BOSTON CELTICS
To win ECF (-550)
To win title (+100)
Like the blind drunk driver who somehow makes it home in one piece, the inconsistent Celtics (five losses in the first two series) are where they wanted to be when the playoffs started. Jayson Tatum has shaken off his horrendous post-All-Star Game shooting slump, the rotation has been tightened and Robert Williams’s return to the starting lineup has jump-started the defense which has been so-so all year. The Celtics have trimmed the rotation to seven but can go deeper if needed. They need Jaylen Brown to stay hot, Tatum to play like Tatum and the D be good if not great. If that happens, Boston will be heading to the Finals for the second straight season.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Los Angeles Lakers
To win WCF (+130)
To win title (+330)
No one talks anymore about trading LeBron James and/or Anthony Davis and then blowing things up and starting from scratch. The LAL are a very live dog against the Nuggets. After their glacial 2-10 start to the season, everything has seemed to go right for LA. They got used to new coach Darvin Ham, mid-season moves paid immediate dividends and they got a huge lift from the unheralded Austin Reeves. Throw it all in the pot, and it enabled the Lakers to somehow emerge from the Play-In and then take down favored defending champion Golden State in the second round. Somehow, some way they can sniff their 18th banner.
Denver Nuggets
To win WCF (-145)
To win title (+230)
The franchise has been to the playoffs 25 times since entering the league in the 1970s, and every playoff series has ended in a loss. But they have huge advantages as they try to win their first-ever championship. For one, they have the best big (and many feel the best player, period) in Nikola Jokic. They are also nearly invincible at home – 6-0 in the playoffs and 34-7 in the regular season. And if there was any doubt that Denver is ready this time after so many playoff disappointments, look at their series domination of the star-filled Suns in the WC semifinals.
The Heat and Nuggets will each attempt to throw monkey wrenches into the league Dream Matchup, and Boston-LA is hardly a foregone conclusion. The Heat generally make life miserable for the Celtics, especially in party-central Miami, and the Nuggets were the best team in the Western Conference and a full 10 games better than strong-finishing LA.
That said, to the entrants:
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Miami Heat
To win ECF (+400)
To win title (+1400)
The Heat are heavy dogs against Boston, but they don’t go into this series unarmed. Bam Adebayo always seems to play well against the Celtics, Jimmy Butler has that familiar playoff fanaticism about him, Erik Spoelstra could coach circles around Joe Mazzulla, and Miami doesn’t seem to miss injured Tyler Herro in the least. That said, the Heat caught huge breaks when the Bucks spit the bit and the Knicks turned into pumpkins. Is it possible that the East’s 8 seed can catch lightning in a bottle for a third straight series?
BOSTON CELTICS
To win ECF (-550)
To win title (+100)
Like the blind drunk driver who somehow makes it home in one piece, the inconsistent Celtics (five losses in the first two series) are where they wanted to be when the playoffs started. Jayson Tatum has shaken off his horrendous post-All-Star Game shooting slump, the rotation has been tightened and Robert Williams’s return to the starting lineup has jump-started the defense which has been so-so all year. The Celtics have trimmed the rotation to seven but can go deeper if needed. They need Jaylen Brown to stay hot, Tatum to play like Tatum and the D be good if not great. If that happens, Boston will be heading to the Finals for the second straight season.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Los Angeles Lakers
To win WCF (+130)
To win title (+330)
No one talks anymore about trading LeBron James and/or Anthony Davis and then blowing things up and starting from scratch. The LAL are a very live dog against the Nuggets. After their glacial 2-10 start to the season, everything has seemed to go right for LA. They got used to new coach Darvin Ham, mid-season moves paid immediate dividends and they got a huge lift from the unheralded Austin Reeves. Throw it all in the pot, and it enabled the Lakers to somehow emerge from the Play-In and then take down favored defending champion Golden State in the second round. Somehow, some way they can sniff their 18th banner.
Denver Nuggets
To win WCF (-145)
To win title (+230)
The franchise has been to the playoffs 25 times since entering the league in the 1970s, and every playoff series has ended in a loss. But they have huge advantages as they try to win their first-ever championship. For one, they have the best big (and many feel the best player, period) in Nikola Jokic. They are also nearly invincible at home – 6-0 in the playoffs and 34-7 in the regular season. And if there was any doubt that Denver is ready this time after so many playoff disappointments, look at their series domination of the star-filled Suns in the WC semifinals.
