Lakers favoured to dispatch the Heat

The Miami Heat overcame long odds to reach the 2020 NBA Finals and they’ll have to do so again to win their first title in seven years, according to oddsmakers. The Los Angeles Lakers are heavy favourites across sportsbooks, with Sportsbetting.com installing them at -400 and the Heat at +320 to win the series. Miami is the third- lowest seed to reach the NBA Finals since 1984 and this is the first ever finals matchup between teams that missed the post-season the previous year. The Lakers entered the playoffs expected to compete with their Los Angeles rival, the Clippers, to represent the Western Conference against the Milwaukee Bucks in the finals. However, the field thinned significantly when the Clippers and Bucks bowed out in the semifinals in their respective divisions. The Heat were in the middle of the Eastern conference pack as the No. 5 seed and not expected to be much of a threat behind the Bucks, reigning champion Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics. The NBA Finals begin on Wednesday.