Lakers vs. Heat Still A Mismatch, Jimmy Butler Joins LeBron James, Anthony Davis In Finals MVP Race

The Los Angeles Lakers are still thought to be in full control of the 2020 NBA Finals, despite being upset by the shorthanded Miami Heat in Game 3.

With a 2-1 series lead, Los Angeles remains the heavy betting favorite to win the championship inside the league’s bubble. The Lakers have -1500 odds in the Finals, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Heat are +900 underdogs.

The series odds have been all over the place since just before the Finals began. LA went from less than -400 favorites to massive -6000 favorites in fewer than 24 hours, considered a virtual lock after winning Game 1 in blowout fashion.

Both Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic left the series opener with injuries that have forced them to miss Game 2 and Game 3. Without two of their three best players for the near future, Miami was a +1600 underdog in a 1-0 series hole.

The Lakers have -150 odds to win the series in five games.

Following a Game 2 loss, Jimmy Butler had a historic performance in Sunday’s 115-104 victory to keep Miami alive in the series. Butler posted the third 40-point triple-double in NBA Finals history, needing just 20 field-goal attempts to accomplish the feat.

Averaging 29.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game, Butler has +950 odds to win the NBA Finals MVP award. He’s Miami’s only realistic contender. Adebayo is second on the Heat with +15000 odds.

LeBron James is a significant -300 favorite to win his fourth Finals MVP award. Davis has +300 odds after dominating the first two games of the series and potentially looking like the most probable winner of the award.

James is averaging 27.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game while shooting 55.1% from the field. He hasn’t posted worse than a 25-9-8 in any of the three games.

Davis is averaging 27.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 64.7% from the feld. Davis only scored 15 points on nine attempts in the Game 3 loss.