After an exciting regular season and playoffs, we are now down to the final four teams in contention to be this year’s NBA Finals Champion.
In the Western Conference Finals series the Denver Nuggets faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers in their first of seven game series, earning a 132-126 victory over LeBron James and company.
Tonight, the Eastern Conference Finals gets underway with the Boston Celtics, who beat the Philadelphia 76ers 4-3 in the last round, set to take on the Miami Heat in their first game on the best of seven series tonight.
Of course, you can enjoy plenty of betting on the NBA Conference Finals, as well as the NBA Finals with bet365 Sport and not forgetting, you will be able to bet on which team you think will win it all next season too.
In this article, we are going to take a closer look at the four teams remaining in the NBA Playoffs, their records over the course of the season, their usual starting five players, and of course who we think will win each of the Conference Finals and then go on to contest, and win the NBA Finals.
So let’s begin that process with the series that has just got underway last night, the Denver Nuggets against the Los Angeles Lakers.
NBA Western Conference Finals
Denver Nuggets v Los Angeles Lakers
The Road To The Conference Finals
Denver Nuggets
- Regular Season Record (Seeding) – 53-29 (1st)
- Conference Playoff Round 1 – v Minnesota Timberwolves – W 4-1
- Conference Playoff Semi Finals – v Phoenix Suns – W 4-2
- Offense Ranking (Regular Season) – 3rd (12th)
- Defense Ranking (Regular Season) – 7th (8th)
Denver Nuggets Team & Bench
- Aaron Gordon (F)
- Michael Porter Jr. (F)
- Nikola Jokic (C)
- Jamal Murray (G)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (G)
- Bench – Bruce Brown Jr., Jeff Green, Christian Braun, Reggie Jackson, Thomas Bryant, DeAndre Jordan
Star Man – Nikola Jokic (C) – MVP of the league for the previous two years, Jokic may not be the most aesthetically pleasing player in the NBA, but he is undoubtedly the most effective with his stellar performances at the heart of the Nuggets title charge this season.
Los Angeles Lakers
- Regular Season Record (Seeding) – 43-39 (
- Conference Play In Round 1 – Minnesota Timberwolves – W 108-102 (OT) (became 7th seed)
- Conference Playoff Round 1 – V Memphis Grizzlies – W 4-2
- Conference Playoff Semi Finals – v Golden State Warriors – W 4-2
- Offense Ranking (Regular Season) – 10th (6th)
- Defense Ranking (Regular Season) – 9th (20th)
Los Angeles Lakers Team & Bench
- Austin Reaves (F)
- LeBron James (F)
- Anthony Davis (C)
- Dennis Schroder (G)
- D’Angelo Russell (G)
- Bench – Rui Hachimura, Lonnie Walker IV, Jarred Vanderbilt, Tristan Thompson, Mohamed Bamba, Scotty Pippen Jr.
Star Man – LeBron James (F) – Along with Michael Jordan, viewed by many as the greatest Basketball star of all-time. Even at the age of 38, LeBron is still capable of winning games on his own and he is still a huge part of this Lakers outfit.
NBA Conference Finals – Schedule
- Game 1 – 16th May – Denver Nuggets 132-126 Los Angeles Lakers
- Game 2 – 18th May – Denver Nuggets v Los Angeles Lakers
- Game 3 – 20th May – Los Angeles Lakers v Denver Nuggets
- Game 4 – 22nd May – Los Angeles Lakers v Denver Nuggets
- Game 5* – 24th May – Denver Nuggets v Los Angeles Lakers
- Game 6* – 26th May – Los Angeles Lakers v Denver Nuggets
- Game 7* – 28th May – Denver Nuggets v Los Angeles Lakers
*these games will only be played if required so dates and times are provisional for now.
Latest Betting Odds & Tip To Win Western Conference Finals
- Denver Nuggets 5/13 – Los Angeles Lakers 43/20
A dominant performance from Nikola Jokic has seemingly swung the betting in the favour of the Nuggets, but the Lakers have the edge in terms of experience and going one game down won’t faze them here. I can see this going all the way to game 7 and I’m going to back the Nuggets to sneak the win 4-3. You can back a 4-3 win for the Nuggets at 15/4 with bet365.
NBA Eastern Conference Finals
Boston Celtics v Miami Heat
The Road To The Conference Finals
Boston Celtics
- Regular Season Record (Seeding) – 57-25 (2nd)
- Conference Playoff Round 1 – v Atlanta Hawks – W 4-2
- Conference Playoff Semi Finals – v Philadelphia 76ers – W 4-3
- Offense Playoff Ranking (Regular Season) – 6th (4th)
- Defense Playoff Ranking (Regular Season) – 13th (5th)
Boston Celtics Team & Bench
- Jayson Tatum (F)
- Al Horford (F)
- Robert Williams III (C)
- Jaylen Brown (G)
- Marcus Smart (G)
- Bench – Malcolm Brogdon, Derrick White, Luke Kornet, Grant Williams, Justin Champagnie, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard
Star Man – Jayson Tatum (F) – The enigmatic power behind the Celtic’s impressive offense, Tatum has enjoyed a stellar campaign and it will be his points, or lack of them, that will ultimately decide how far Boston go in this years Playoffs.
Miami Heat
- Regular Season Record (Seeding) – 44-38 (8th)
- Conference Play In Round 1 – v Atlanta Hawks – L 116-105
- Conference Play In Round 2 – v Chicago Bulls – W 102-91 (became 8th seed)
- Conference Playoff Round 1 – v Milwaukee Bucks – W 4-1
- Conference Playoff Semi Finals – v New York Knicks – W 4-2
- Offense Ranking (Regular Season) – 11th (30th)
- Defense Ranking (Regular Season) – 15th (2nd)
Miami Heat & Bench
- Jimmy Butler (F)
- Kevin Love (F)
- Bam Adebayo (C)
- Max Strus (G)
- Gabe Vincent (G)
- Bench – Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, Duncan Robinson, Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo, Omer Yurtseven, Udonis Haslem
Star Man – Jimmy Butler (F) – Jimmy Butler has earned a reputation as a playoff stud and he is living up to that this year for Miami. The Heat’s much vaunted defence is as good as it gets, but Butler is vital to point scoring that will ultimately win Miami games.
NBA Conference Finals – Schedule
- Game 1 – 17th May – Boston Celtics v Miami Heat
- Game 2 – 19th May – Boston Celtics v Miami Heat
- Game 3 – 21st May – Miami Heat v Boston Celtics
- Game 4 – 23rd May – Miami Heat v Boston Celtics
- Game 5* – 25th May – Boston Celtics v Miami Heat
- Game 6* – 27th May – Miami Heat v Boston Celtics
- Game 7* – 29th May – Boston Celtics v Miami Heat
*these games will only be played if required so dates and times are provisional for now.
Latest Betting Odds & Tip To Win Western Conference Finals
- Boston Celtics 2/11 – Miami Heat 17/4
Bet365 has the Celtics as the clear favourite to land the win here and there’s really not a lot to say much more than that. They have been the better team this season compared to Miami and while the Heat have a puncher’s chance, over potentially seven games, I feel the Celtics quality will come through. Back the Celtics to take the series 4-2 at 15/4.
Who Wins The NBA Finals?
Assuming it is a Celtics v Nuggets final, I’d back the Boston Celtics to land yet another NBA Finals crown and they are 6/5 favourites to do so with bet365 Sport.