The 2023 NBA playoffs are in full swing and we have some exciting matchups for the Conference Finals. Every year, I immensely enjoy watching the NBA playoffs. There are tons of games that are on almost every night stretching from April all the way to June. There is so much talent and watching all these guys play in college and watching them develop really makes me appreciate watching them even more. Throw in some Shaq and Barkley comedy on TNT, it’s just a good time and something I look forward to every year.

We are now down to the same four teams that we had in the 2020 NBA bubble with the LA Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics. The bubble was a blessing to watch as it was the first time we got to watch sports again because everything else was canceled. It helped keep me sane during that insane time. Last time the Lakers came out victorious beating an injury-depleted Miami Heat team. This time I think the matchup will be different so let’s get to our Conference Final preview and best bets.

Eastern Conference Finals: Boston Celtics (1) vs Miami Heat (8)

DraftKings Odds to Win Series: Heat +400, Celtics -525

This will be the third Eastern Conference final between the Heat and Celtics in the last four years with the Heat winning in six games in 2020 and the Celtics winning in seven just last season. These two teams met four times this season splitting the series 2-2. Jimmy Butler only played in two of those games going 1-1 and Jaylen Brown missed a game that Butler also missed resulting in a Celtics loss.

These two teams know each other very well with the biggest difference being that this is Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla’s first season compared to Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra who has been there since 2008. Spoelstra has been highly successful since succeeding Hall-of-Famer Pat Riley winning two NBA championships with a career 59% winning percentage. He deserves a lot of credit for their bubble run and this one as both teams made deep runs while overcoming injuries. Of course, it helps to have a stud in Jimmy Butler who has been given the name “Playoff Jimmy.”

Butler averaged 25 points against this Celtics team last year in the playoffs and in the regular season this year, he averaged a double-double going 21.5 and 10 in his two games. Butler is once again going to have to play like Superman if they are going to pull this upset. Bam Adebayo was also huge against the Celtics this year averaging 25 points and nine rebounds in four games. Tyler Herro was the next best averaging 20.5 points but he remains out and will be out for the entirety of this series. Losing Victor Oladipo was also a tough blow. The Heat have managed to make it this far first shocking the world as an eighth seed beating the number one seed and ’21 champs Milwaukee Bucks in five games. It helped that Giannis missed two games and was banged up with a back injury but still impressive nonetheless. In the end, they went on to defeat the New York Knicks in six games.

This current Celtics squad is still searching for their first title, failing to beat the Golden State Warriors last year in the Finals. The team has been seen wearing shirts this playoff run that says “Unfinished Business” as Jayson Tatum and company are on a mission to win their first NBA title and add an NBA-leading 18th title to this historic Boston Celtics franchise. They took care of the Atlanta Hawks and then the Philadelphia 76ers both in six games.

Furthermore, Tatum really put it to the Sixers in game six scoring 51 points reminding them again why they should have taken him number one overall and not traded up to take Markelle Fultz! What a huge difference one draft pick can make as it completely changed the face of these two franchises.

Tatum was dominant against the Heat this year averaging a double-double with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Jaylen Brown also averaged 30 points and eight rebounds. In the playoffs last year against the Heat Tatum averaged 25 points, eight rebounds five assists, and a steal per game while Brown averaged 24 points and seven rebounds. Finally, Marcus Smart was also big averaging 16 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal per game.

The Tyler Herro injury was a big one for the Heat as he had been playing solid basketball once again and similarly losing Victor Oladipo didn’t help. Max Strus has stepped in nicely and Kyle Lowry and Gabe Vincent have stepped up but they would be in much better shape had they had those two guys. On the other hand, the Celtics are essentially fully healthy, and with Tatum, Brown, Smart, Malcolm Brogdon, Al Horford, and Derrick White they are just a lot more well-rounded.

Jimmy Butler is going to be asked to do way too much once again and I just don’t think they will have enough to pull another upset like they did against the Bucks and beat the Celtics. I could see them winning a game or two, but ultimately I see them losing this series in six games.

Series Best Bet: Series Exact Result, Boston 4-2 +360

Game One Best Bet: Heat +8

Western Conference Final: Denver Nuggets (1) vs L.A. Lakers (7)

DraftKings Odds to Win Series: Denver -160, Lakers +135

Every year I do an NBA postseason draft and this year I stacked the Golden State Warriors thinking they would once again return to the finals. However, they just didn’t have enough with guys like Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, and even Klay Thompson failing to step up. Golden State did not play well in the series against L.A. and the Lakers went on to advance to play the Denver Nuggets in the Conference Final for the 2nd time in four years.

When these two teams met up in the bubble in 2020, the Lakers would win the series in five games and ultimately go on to defeat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. The same core players remain on both teams with Lebron James and Anthony Davis for the Lakers and Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray for the Nuggets. However, as Shaq says, “The Others” have changed a lot. These two teams played four times this year splitting the games 2-2.

The Lakers started off this postseason by first playing in the play-in round against the Timberwolves, ultimately winning that game and moving on to play the two-seed Memphis Grizzlies in the first round. They took care of them in six games then went on to defeat Steph Curry and the defending Champ Golden State Warriors in six games as well.

Additionally, role players like Austin Reaves, Dennis Schroeder, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and Lonnie Walker IV have all stepped up and played well at different moments in these playoffs. This Lakers team has a legit chance to win a title which would be their NBA-leading 18th championship and would be LeBron’s 5th title.

The Nuggets will enjoy home-court advantage in this series as the one seed and have all the weapons at their disposal to win this series. Additionally, they’ll have a chance to bring home the Nuggets’ first-ever NBA title. Jokic, aka “The Joker” has been lights out in this playoffs and Jamal Murray is back to playing like he did in the NBA bubble two years ago after missing the last two playoff runs for Denver.

Furthermore, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon are two highly talented role players along with former Laker KCP, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Bruce Brown. The Nuggets took care of the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games before defeating Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and the Phoenix Suns in six.

In three games this season against Denver, James averaged 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists along with one steal per game. Anthony Davis averaged a double-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds, along with 2 steals and 1 block per game. Additionally, Schroeder, Reaves, and Walker IV chipped in and averaged 14, 12, and 11 points per game respectively.

For Denver, Jokic essentially averaged a triple-double against the Lakers with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 9.8 assists to go along with 2.3 steals per game. Jamal Murray averaged 22 points with five rebounds and five assists per game. Michael Porter Jr. averaged 14.5 points to go along with eight rebounds per game. Aaron Gordon averaged 12.5 points, seven rebounds, and an impressive 2.5 blocks. Bruce Brown and Caldwell-Pope both averaged double digits in scoring with 13.5 and 11.8 respectively.

Overall, this is going to be a great series to watch and it ultimately could come down to seven games. It would not surprise me to see the Lakers win this series. However, the fact that Denver is home, Jokic and Murray are out for revenge from 2020 and looking to get their first title gives them the edge in my eyes. Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon also are better than any of the Lakers’ “Others”.

Series Best Bet: Nuggets to Win -165

Game One Best Bet: Nuggets -6

Thanks for reading you can follow me on Twitter @FantasySavvy.

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