NBA Conference Finals Betting Preview

The Conference Finals are here and as the NBA Playoffs continue on, we break down the two series between the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Denver Nuggets, and the Boston Celtics vs. the Miami Heat. Whether it's the Western Conference Finals or the Eastern Conference Finals, we have you covered. Here's how to win your bets.

MORE: NBA Futures Odds

We’ve already looked at NBA Futures multiple times throughout the postseason, including NBA Finals matchups to bet on and why the time to bet the Lakers was at the start of the postseason. We suggested that our audience take a flier on a Lakers-Heat rematch at +32700 before it sharply dropped to +27000. 

This is why finding value in futures is so important. A critical way to do that is to maximize the amount of sportsbooks you use out of the ones available to you. Every state is different, so be sure to check our Best Sportsbooks page to ensure you aren’t missing out on exclusive promotions like DraftKings’ $150 in bonus bets, or BetMGM’s risk-free wager up to $1,000.

NBA Western Conference Finals Betting Preview

Probability to win the series:

Nuggets 65.4%

Lakers 34.6%

The Denver Nuggets making the Western Conference Finals should surprise no one, especially with how Nikola Jokic has played in the postseason. Jokic has upped his production across the board, averaging 30.7 points, 12.8 rebounds and 9.7 assists. Even with LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the opposite side line, the Nuggets will clearly have the best player in this series, something that wasn't true when these two teams met in the WCF in the bubble.

Denver has been so dominant in the playoffs that they haven't even seen an elimination game yet, closing out the Timberwolves in five games and the Suns in six. With many bettors backing King James here, you can actually get a pretty appetizing price on the much better team, the Denver Nuggets, to win the series at just -145 odds. DimersBOT projects the Nuggets to emerge victorious nearly 66% of the time, which makes this a great value bet at this point in the playoffs.

The Bet: Nuggets to win the series (-145) on DraftKings

NBA Eastern Conference Finals Betting Preview

Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat

Probability to win the series:

Celtics 79.3%

Heat 20.7%

On the other side of the bracket, the ultimate underdog Miami Heat will now face the Boston Celtics, and depending on who you ask, this might not be the most competitive series. ESPN's projections model give Miami just a 3% chance of winning, but that feels far too low to us. DimersBOT projects Miami to win the series 21% of the time, which still makes them a clear underdog, but it might not be as easy as most people think.

Boston hasn't had the easiest path through the playoffs thus far. They let Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks hang around a few too many games, before ultimately winning the series in six. Then they followed that up by trailing the Sixers and notorious choke-artist Doc Rivers, down 3-2 before Jayson Tatum stepped up in the clutch to win the series. They won't have the luxury of letting Miami do the same in this series - and Jimmy Butler is the toughest out in the sport. The best way to bet this is to take the series spread, and expect Miami to make this a competitive series.

The Bet: Miami Heat +2.5 games (-130) on DraftKings

Looking for more NBA betting insights? Head over to our Best Props and Best Bets pages to see the top value for daily action, or use our Best Trends feature to find your own plays to target. If you want to cook up a parlay for a larger payout, try our Parlay Picker tool to get creative! Everything we offer is completely free and powered by our state-of-the-art predictive analytics models that run 1000s of simulations to help you make the most informed betting decisions you can.