Jun 2, 2023
Morning Coffee: Jokic delivers historic performance in NBA Finals debut
After a decisive win and cover by the Denver Nuggets in Game 1, we now turn the page to Game 2 on Sunday night. It should be no surprise that the Nuggets are a heavy favourite once again. This is the Morning Coffee for Friday, June 2, 2023.
The Denver Nuggets entered the NBA Finals as a heavy favourite at FanDuel.
They didn’t disappoint in Game 1.
Nikola Jokic recorded 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds as the Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 104-93 in their first NBA Finals game in franchise history.
It was the ninth triple-double this postseason for Jokic, extending his NBA single-postseason record.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Jokic is only the second player in NBA history to lead both teams outright in both points and assists in a finals debut.
The only other player in NBA history to do that? Michael Jordan in 1991.
After a decisive win and cover in Game 1, we now turn the page to Game 2 on Sunday night.
It should be no surprise that the Nuggets are a heavy favourite once again.
This is the Morning Coffee for Friday, June 2, 2023.
Jokic delivers historic performance in NBA Finals debut
As someone who recommended plays on Denver to win the title at +230 and Jokic to win NBA Finals MVP at +270, last night’s opener couldn’t have gone much better.
Jokic set an NBA record for the most assists for a finals debut with 14.
As highlighted above, Jokic followed Jordan as the second player in NBA history to lead both teams outright in both points and assists in a finals debut.
He also became the second player in NBA history to record a triple-double in his finals debut, joining Jason Kidd in 2002.
In fact, Jokic had 10 points, 10 assists and shot 100 per cent from the field in the first half alone.
Per ESPN Stats and Info, he’s the first player to hit each of those milestones in any half over the last 25 postseasons.
Jokic to win NBA Finals MVP went from -340 to -470 at FanDuel. The Nuggets to win the NBA championship went all the way from -460 to -800.
Historically, the winner of Game 1 of the NBA Finals goes on to win the series nearly 70 per cent of the time.
While Jokic absolutely dominated from start to finish, he didn’t do it alone.
Kitchener, Ont.’s Jamal Murray finished with 26 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, while shooting 50 per cent from the field.
Jokic and Murray joined Magic Johnson and James Worthy as the only teammates to each record 25 points and 10 assists in the same NBA Finals game.
Meanwhile, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. combined for 30 points and 19 rebounds. Bruce Brown had 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.
While Denver managed to get contributions from several players, Miami really struggled to get much out of anyone other than Bam Adebayo, Gabe Vincent, or Jimmy Butler.
That trio combined for 58 of their 93 points in the game. Caleb Martin and Max Strus struggled, going a combined 1-17 from the field for three points.
The Heat are going to need more out of that tandem in particular in order to have a chance in Game 2 on Sunday night.
The Nuggets opened as a nine-point favourite at FanDuel.
Even if we see a response from Miami in Game 2, I still believe Denver will emerge with the win and a 2-0 series lead ahead of the next edition of this column on Monday morning.
Panthers, Golden Knights set for Game 1 Saturday
The Florida Panthers will be in familiar territory when the puck drops for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night.
The Panthers, underdogs in each of the first three rounds of the playoffs, are currently +105 to win the Stanley Cup.
Vegas is a -130 ML favourite for Game 1 and -125 to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel this morning.
Believe it or not, these teams had identical odds to win it all when FanDuel first opened this market last summer.
It’s just the seventh time in NHL history that both teams that reached the Stanley Cup Final are chasing their first championship win.
While I truly believe this series could go either way, I lean towards the Panthers to win the Stanley Cup at +105.
A pair of FanDuel Best Bets for the weekend
Game 1 of the NBA Finals couldn’t have gone better for all of us who have futures tickets with the Nuggets to win the title and Jokic to win MVP.
While I cashed several bets on Friday, I didn’t hit on the one that I wanted the most, which was the FanDuel Best Bet that I gave out in this column on Thursday morning.
The first four legs were in the bag by the half, but Martin really struggled from the field, and we ultimately fell one leg short.
Now we’re looking to turn the page this morning and end the week on a winning note.
While I want to give out an MLB winner for Friday, I also want a shot at redemption for Game 2 of the NBA Finals, so I’ll go with two FanDuel Best Bets to end the week.
First up, I’ll lock in the No Run First Inning bet in tonight’s game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals.
The NRFI has cashed in over 70 per cent of all games for both teams so far this season.
That number is even higher when Zack Wheeler and Josiah Grey get the start for their respective teams, as both pitchers are 9-2 to the NRFI this season.
I’ll take the NRFI in the Phillies/Nationals game at -105 as my FanDuel Best Bet for Friday’s MLB action.
After that, I’ll run back the Same Game Parlay I had for Game 1, only without the Caleb Martin points prop.
Sure, Martin will likely bounce back in Game 2. I’m not sure he could do any worse.
The point is that the other legs from the initial parlay cashed in the first half alone, so I’m confident they will all hit again over the course of the entire game.
I’ll lock in Denver money line, Porter 2+ made threes, Porter 6+ rebounds and Murray 4+ assists as my early bankroll builder FanDuel Same Game Parlay best bet for Game 2 of the NBA Finals at +100 odds.
Good luck to anyone who tails!
Have a great weekend and we’ll do it again on Monday.