The 2013 NBA Finals officially get underway this evening as the defending champion Miami Heat welcome the San Antonio Spurs to the AmericanAirlines Arena. Tonight’s series opening showdown between the Spurs and Heat is scheduled to tip off at 9:00pm ET on ABC. NBA Finals Game 1 Odds have Miami listed as a -5 against the spread and -220 moneyline favorite ($220 wins $100); the Over/Under is set at 188.5 points. San Antonio is drawing a +180 money line to take a 1-0 series lead.
The Spurs will enter tonight’s game well rested as they last played on May 27th. San Antonio earned its second sweep of the postseason on that date, dispatching the Grizzlies 93-86 in Memphis to win the Western Conference Finals.
The Spurs will face a Miami team that needed all seven games to get past the scrappy Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat looked suspect at times in their series with Indiana, dropping one game at home and two on the road, their ability to bounce back from a loss proved the biggest difference in the series.
Miami held the Pacers to an average of 83.7 points per game coming off a loss and it won those three games by an average of 17.3 points per contest.
Given those numbers, many bettors are probably pining for a Spurs victory tonight just so they can jump on the Heat in Game 2. There are still a number of reasons to like Miami in this evening’s opener, though.
The Heat are 4-0 in their last four meetings with the Spurs, beating San Antonio by an average of 14.8 points per game. Miami, a -205 pick to win the 2013 NBA Finals, is also 6-1 both straight up and against the spread in its last seven games as a home favorite with a spread between four and 7.5 points.
San Antonio Spurs +5 (-110), Over 188.5 (-110), +180 (Moneyline)
Miami Heat -5 (-110), Under 188.5 (-110), -220 (Moneyline)
NBA Free Picks: San Antonio Spurs at Miami Heat BettingWhat pro basketball bettors need to know about San Antonio Spurs at Miami Heat on Thursday (6/06/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Vegas Runner, with Bryan Leonard.
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