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NBA Finals Game 1 – Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs Free Pick & Preview

Heat vs Spurs Online Betting Odds

The San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat will begin the NBA Finals on Thursday in San Antonio with Game 1. The teams met in the NBA Finals a year ago with the Heat prevailing in seven games. The Heat look to win again this year in what would be their third consecutive title victory. [ad-4468020]

NBA Finals Game 1
Miami Heat (12-3) at San Antonio Spurs (12-6)
Date: Thursday, June 5, 2014
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Venue: AT&T Center
City: San Antonio, Texas
O/U Odds: 198.5
Spread: San Antonio -4
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The health of Tony Parker has been the most discussed item entering this series, which is a great indicator that there really isn’t much to talk about. Parker is sure to play every game in this series, particularly given that there is a five-game break between the end of the Western Conference Finals and the first game of the NBA Finals, then another two-day break between Games 1 and 2.

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His contributions will be especially important as the Heat defense has taken a major step back this postseason, which means Parker will have an opportunity to really take over this series as he did in the early going a year ago.
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Dwyane Wade stepped up in the Finals a year ago and the Heat hope he can continue his strong play this postseason. While Chris Bosh has become a secondary offensive threat, Wade has shown flashes of his old self.

As Tim Duncan noted after the Spurs’ series win in the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs are a determined bunch, looking to atone for last year’s collapse in the Finals, and getting a win in the series opener will be a major step towards winning their fifth title.

The Spurs enter this game in far better form than the Heat, even if they did need three more games to get through a tougher Western Conference than the Heat did to make their way through the East. The Spurs won the opener of last year’s series by four points, and they’re seemingly a better squad this time around.

Additionally, the under was money in San Antonio in last year’s Finals, going 3-1, with the lone exception coming when Ray Allen went off in the closing moments of Game 6 to force overtime. The Heat haven’t been as good defensively this season as they were a year ago, but the Spurs actually rate out as a better defensive squad this postseason, and the total for this game is 10 points higher than it was for Game 1 a year ago.

The Spurs are 7-0 ATS in their last seven home games, while the Heat are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games played in San Antonio.

The under is 4-1 in the Spurs’ last five games overall, and it is 11-5 in the last 16 meetings between these teams in San Antonio.

The play: San Antonio -4, Under 198.5

By Gino Bottero

Gino is new to CappersPicks.com but NOT new to the online gambling industry.He's got an AMAZING knack for discovering hidden gems when it comes to betting on sports. Stick with him as he predicts when a team will have a letdown! Check Gino out for NBA, NHL, NFL, and MLB betting articles all season long!