Denver Nuggets vs Miami Heat Game 2 Prediction and Odds: 2023 NBA Finals

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A common sight in these NBA playoffs, the top-seeded Denver Nuggets are favored at home with a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals over the Miami Heat. The Finals debut for Nikola Jokic was a smashing success with a triple-double, and the Heat only managed 93 points on the road. Now the Nuggets can take a significant 2-0 lead and improve to 10-0 at home this postseason.

Prediction 1

Nikola Jokic Over 51.5 Pts+Ast+Reb

100/129 (-129)

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Prediction 2

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Over 1.5 3PM

20/27 (-135)

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These odds from William Hill were correct at the time of writing.

Denver Nuggets vs Miami Heat – Game Predictions

Contents

1 Denver Nuggets vs Miami Heat – Game Predictions
- 1.1 Prediction 1: Nikola Jokic Over 51.5 Points + Assists + Rebounds
- 1.2 Prediction 2: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Over 1.5 Made 3s
2 Nuggets vs Heat Preview – Can Miami Score Enough?
- 2.1 Denver Nuggets News, Injuries, and Starting Lineups
- 2.2 Nuggets vs Heat Head to Head Record In 2023
3 Denver Nuggets vs Miami Heat Game Details

The Nuggets are an 8.5-point home favorite with a total of 215 points. Home teams leading the NBA Finals 1-0 are 33-25 (.569) in Game 2, so there may be more value with prop picks than this large spread, which Miami was a final basket away from covering in Game 1.

Prediction 1: Nikola Jokic Over 51.5 Points + Assists + Rebounds

Can anyone stop the big man these days? Jokic seems destined to put up a triple-double each game now. Jokic is the second player in NBA history to post a triple-double in his NBA Finals debut. He finished with 51 total Points + Assists + Rebounds in Game 1, but he also barely took any shots in the first three quarters, and he uncharacteristically had just 10 rebounds. He can be a more dominant scorer and rebounder, so trust him to go over 51.5 in this game that should be higher scoring and more competitive than Game 1.

Prediction 2: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Over 1.5 Made 3s

The Nuggets are close to unbeatable when KCP goes over 10 points, but in Game 1, he only scored 7 points. He missed a couple 3s and free throws. Jokic and Jamal Murray were outstanding with 24 assists between them, so Denver’s ball movement to get open shots was on point. Look for Caldwell-Pope to bury a couple 3s in this one to hit his over. He had gone over 1.5 made 3s in five straight games prior to Game 1. Time to start a new streak.

Nuggets vs Heat Preview – Can Miami Score Enough?

The Heat averaged an NBA-low 109.5 points per game in the regular season, but they looked very good on their way to a 3-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, the Heat have not scored more than 103 points in five straight games, and that would be a big problem against a Denver offense that has been incredibly efficient in the playoffs.

Denver Nuggets News, Injuries, and Starting Lineups

The Nuggets continue to stay healthy and have been able to start the same five players in all 16 playoff games. Bruce Brown has also been a valuable 6th man off the bench. There are no concerns for Denver so far in this series. The only area they need to improve from Game 1 is to shoot the 3 better, but they only rank 25th in 3-point attempts this season, so it is not a big deal for the No. 1 offense in the paint.

Denver Nuggets Injury Report:

No injuries to report ahead of Game 2

Denver Nuggets Starting Lineup:

Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic.

Miami Heat News, Injuries, and Starting Lineups

The Heat need more shooters to deal with Denver’s top-rated offense, and there is a chance they could get one back in Tyler Herro, who broke his fingers in the first game this postseason. Herro is close to returning but could make Game 3 his actual return date. He will just have to hope the Heat can find more shots in Game 2 to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole.

Miami Heat Injury Report:

Caleb Martin (illness) is probable after missing Saturday practice
Tyler Herro (fingers) is questionable for Game 2
Victor Oladipo (knee) is out for the season

Miami Heat Starting Lineup:

Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Caleb Martin, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo.

Nuggets vs Heat Head to Head Record In 2023

The Nuggets are now 3-0 against Miami this season and 10-1 since the 2018-19 season. Denver coach Michael Malone has the best record (13-6) of any coach against Miami coach Erik Spoelstra (min. 10 games).