Going into the NBA Finals last week, you would have been hard pressed to convince any sports betting enthusiast, that the Miami Heat stood a chance against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder had run through the likes of the defending Champion Dallas Mavericks, and the previous two Western Conference Champions, the LA Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. On the other hand, the Heat had a much more difficult time, as they took six games to beat the Knicks and Pacers, before needing seven to beat the Celtics. With the Heat a heavy underdog, it made sense that as of this writing, they’d be up three to one with a chance at winning the NBA Title later this week.
Led by the big three of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, the Heat have had a coming out party of sorts throughout this finals series. Aside from the big three, Miami is receiving contributions from role players such as Shane Battier, Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem. However, more then anything, the Finals have suddenly become LeBron James coming out party. Essentially, for the past 14 games, James has scored a minimum of 25 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, en route to guiding the Heat to success. Even if the Thunder somehow climb back into this betting online series, LeBron’s reputation as a choke artist in pressure situations, will have vanished.
Entering the NBA Finals, nobody in their right mind, could have seen a role reversal between Miami and Oklahoma City coming. Where the Heat won on the back of the aforementioned LeBron James, the Thunder were relying on all 11 guys to get the job done. Now as we look ahead to game five, the Thunder have drifted away from their betting software team game, as Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are carrying the offensive load. Meanwhile, as we noted earlier, the Heat are firing on all cylinders. Meaning to say, barring an injury to one of the big three, the Heat are in good shape to win their second NBA Title since 2006.
What’s been most intriguing about the Heat being up three games to one is that they have literally stolen games from the Thunder. For example, in both game three and game four last night, the Thunder jumped out to significant leads going into the fourth quarter. Yet, as 5Dimes bettors have discovered, LeBron James and role players such as Mario Chalmers, are doing their best work with the game on the line, as they have come all the way back and stolen both games. For all intents and purposes, this series at the very least should be tied at two games apiece, rather then Miami up three games to one.
Instead, as we look ahead to Thursday night, LeBron James and his Miami Heat are preparing for the biggest game of their careers, the one that will lock up his first ring. For all the criticism James has received both in Cleveland and when he left, it will be game five, which ultimately defines his career. The Heat have three more chances to close out the series, but if they can do it in their first try on Thursday, a lot of naysayers will be silenced. If you want to wager on the game, we recommend using www.topbettinglines.com/free-live-odds for all the latest odds.