NBA Finals Game 4

AuthorAuthor

Zach Beier & Chubbs Scheffler
June 09, 2023

Good morning,

Let’s dive in…

Developing Stories 📰

The 2023 NBA Finals rage on with Game 4 set to take place tonight as the Miami Heat will look to even up the series on their home floor against the Denver Nuggets To avoid losing two in a row to the Heat and falling behind 2-1, the Denver Nuggets attacked Miami with one of the more lethal games in recent playoff history as Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic became the first two teammates in NBA History to both record 30-point triple-doubles. It was a historic performance by the Nuggets, and now Denver possesses all of the confidence moving forward in this series as they were able to steal home-court advantage right back from Miami.

The Heat will enter Friday in need to tie up the series at two apiece. If Miami ends up falling behind 3-1, then it is extremely difficult to imagine that they will be able to win three consecutive contests versus the number-one seed out west. The best way that the Heat can win tonight will be in the form of slowing down the game and sticking to their slow, half-court roots. Whenever Denver gets out and runs in transition trouble usually follows if you're Miami. It will be critical for the Heat to make sure they get back on missed shots to slow down the attack by the Nuggets. Miami also needs more from their role players. Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, and Caleb Martin went a combined 7-26 from the floor as this is something that cannot happen again. This trio can get hot, and they will need to return to their type of play in Game 2 in to even up the series on Friday.

It is becoming more and more obvious that the Heat have no answers for the magical play of Nikola Jokic. Just like everyone else that has gone face-to-face with the two-time MVP, there are little to no answers to defend Jokic and his superb facilitating type of play. If the Nuggets are going to take Game 4 and run with it they need much more production from Michael Porter Jr. During the entirety of the season, MPJ was one of the league's more pure shooters but has been absolutely abysmal over the course of the last two games as he has scored a combined 7 points on 3-15 shooting. Clearly, the Nuggets need their third-best player to snap out of his shooting slump. In what should serve as the most vital game of the series the Nuggets will once again prove why they are the better team.

Headlines 🚨

On This Day in Sport History: 1914 Pirates SS Honus Wagner is 2nd player to get 3000 hits.

1973 105th Belmont: Secretariat wins in 2:24, becoming the 1st Triple Crown winner in 25 years.

The Florida Panthers rally in Stanley Cup Final Game 3 to beat the Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime. The series is now 2-1.

Guardians Jose Ramirez hits 3 homers from both sides of the plate in their 10-3 win over the Red Sox.

Bucks forward Khris Middleton had a surgical procedure on his right knee after Milwaukee was upset first round by the Heat. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Tyler Herro has not yet cleared to return from broken hand in Game 4.

Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez exits early with oblique discomfort in yesterday’s 3-2 loss against the Blue Jays.

The Minnesota Vikings have informed running back Dalvin Cook that they plan to release him.

The NCAA is tweaking how block/charge calls are made in men's basketball. The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved rule changes on Thursday that require a defender to be in position to draw a charge at the time the offensive player plants a foot to go airborne for a shot.

Blue Jackets get Damon Severson from Devils in sign-in and trade.

Trends 📈📉 via Oddsshark

🏀 Nuggets at Heat

  • The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Denver's last 9 games.

  • The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Miami's last 7 games.

  • The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Miami's last 5 games at home.

⚾️ Rangers at Rays

  • The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games

⚾️ Royals at Orioles

  • Baltimore is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Kansas City

  • Baltimore is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Kansas City

⚾️ Red Sox at Yankees

  • NY Yankees is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Boston

  • NY Yankees is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Boston

⚾️ Dodgers at Phillies

  • The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing LA Dodgers

⚾️ Mets at Pirates

  • The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing at home against NY Mets

⚾️ Twins at Blue Jays

  • The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games

  • The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games on the road

  • Toronto is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games

  • The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 6 games at home

⚾️ Astros at Guardians

  • The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing on the road against Cleveland

  • The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games

  • Cleveland is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games

⚾️ Nationals at Braves

  • The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta

⚾️ Marlins at White Sox

  • The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi White Sox's last 6 games

⚾️ Athletics at Brewers

  • Milwaukee is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games

⚾️ Reds at Cardinals

  • Cincinnati is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road

⚾️ Padres at Rockies

  • Colorado is 15-2 ATS in its last 17 games when playing at home against San Diego

  • Colorado is 14-3 SU in its last 17 games when playing at home against San Diego

⚾️ Mariners at Angels

  • The total has gone OVER in 9 of Seattle's last 12 games when playing LA Angels

⚾️ Cubs at Giants

  • The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Chi Cubs's last 10 games

  • The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Chi Cubs's last 8 games on the road

  • The total has gone UNDER in 6 of San Francisco's last 7 games when playing Chi Cubs

  • The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Francisco's last 6 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs

Public Money 🤑 via VSiN at 9AMCT

🏀 NBA

26% of bets and 45% of money is on MIA +3.5

⚾️ MLB

45% of bets and 79% of money is on UNDER 8 ARI at DET

36% of bets and 92% of money is on UNDER 8 KC at BAL

56% of bets and 81% of money is on LAD -1.5 (+150)

46% of bets and 82% of money is on NYM -1.5 (+145)

36% of bets and 57% of money is on MIN +105

61% of bets and 85% of money is on HOU -1.5 (+140)

47% of bets and 81% of money is on UNDER 8 HOU at CLE

45% of bets and 90% of money is on OVER 10 WSH at ATL

50% of bets and 84% of money is on STL -1.5 (+110)

32% of bets and 64% of money is on UNDER 8 CIN at STL

58% of bets and 83% of money is on LAA -1.5 (+165)

47% of bets and 66% of money is on OVER 7.5 SEA at LAA

48% of bets and 70% of money is on CHC +100

🏒 NHL

24% of bets and 55% of money is on FLA -1.5 (+200)

Future Odds 🔮 via Bovada Sportsbook

Injury Report 🏥 via ESPN

MIA (PG) Tyler Herro | Out - Hand

ARI (LF) Lourdes Gurriel Jr | Day-to-Day - Groin

BOS (CF) Adam Duvall | 60 Day IL - Wrist, set to be activated today

BOS (SS) Yu Chang | 10 Day IL - Wrist, set to be activated Monday

CWS (DH) Eloy Jimenez | Day-to-Day - Leg

HOU (LF) Yordan Alvarez | Day-to-Day - Exited yesterday’s game with oblique discomfort

LAA (RF) Hunter Renfroe | Paternity - Set to return Saturday

NYM (1B) Pete Alonso | 10 Day IL - Wrist

PHI (RP) Jose Alvarado | 10 Day IL - Elbow, set to be activated today

PHI (1B) Alec Bohm | 15 Day IL - Hamstring, set to be activated Saturday

TB (1B) Yandy Diaz | Day-to-Day

TOR (CF) Kevin Kiermaier | Day-to-Day - Exited yesterday’s game with wrist injury, x-rays came back negative

Weekend Picks 🔒

MLB

Astros -125 | Javier has a bit of a track record, having pitched well for Houston over the last few seasons. Getting healthy was important for the Astros as the return of Jose Altuve was a big boost. Factor in that Cleveland struggles to put runs on the board and that could prove problematic for the hosts. Give the advantage to the Astros as they take the opener of this series.

NBA

Nuggets -3.5 | The Nuggets have dominated this series and they show no signs of slowing down in this one. Jokic remains the most dominant player on the planet and with Miami having no answers on either end for him. The Heat are 0-5 ATS in their last five games following a double-digit loss at home.

UFC

Oliveira +125 | With an extensive background in BJJ, Oliveira is one of the best grapplers in the world and holds the UFC record for most submission wins (16) and finishes (19). He's also an an aggressive striker with crisp Muay Thai ability and throws vicious elbows and knees in close.

Tennis

Casper Ruud -107 | Ruud takes the edge in terms of his marginally superior experience, consistency and pedigree, especially on clay, where they have similar records. The Norwegian is 115-42 on the surface, where he has won 9 of his 10 singles titles.