NBA Finals 2023: Game 1

Last Modified Jun 7, 2023 12:35 GMT

The 2023 NBA Finals will be the championship series of the 2022-23 season and the conclusion to the season's playoffs.

Game 1 NBA Finals

Game 1 of the 2023 NBA finals will be played between the West champion, Denver Nuggets, and the East champion, Miami Heat.

Both the teams had not won any NBA title for a very long time, the last being in 2013 for the Miami Heat while the Nuggets championship bucket is still vacant. Thus, whoever will be the winner, it will be a historic win for them.

Golden State Warriors v Portland Trail Blazers
Golden State Warriors v Portland Trail Blazers

NBA Finals 2023 location

In the 2023 NBA season, the Denver Nuggets will have the home-court advantage because of the better regular season record (53-29) than the Miami Heat (44-38).

The Denver Nuggets will host Games 1 and 2 at the Ball Arena in Denver as well as Games 5 and 7 if required. The Miami Heat will play Games 3, 4 and 6 at the Kaseya Center in Miami.

GamesLocation
Game 1Ball Arena, Denver
Game 2Ball Arena, Denver
Game 3Kaseya Center, Miami
Game 4Kaseya Center, Miami
Game 5Ball Arena, Denver
Game 6Kaseya Center, Miami
Game 7Ball Arena, Denver

2023 NBA Finals tickets

The NBA Finals are one of the most popular events in American sports, so generally, the demand for tickets is very high. The ticket prices depend on several factors including, the players and teams playing, the rivalry, the seating capacity of the Arena, and the seat location.

On average, a single-game ticket for the 2023 NBA Finals is around $2034.57. Moreover, if you buy the ticket closest to the match date it may lead you to pay higher prices than usual.

Usually, the ticket price ranges from $900 to $1,000 and you can buy it from NBATickets.com.

Game1 NBA Finals Teams

Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 7 in a 4-3 series thus advancing to the NBA finals from the East.

This is the first time in 24 years that an 8th-seed team in a regular season had reached the NBA Finals.

The Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers in a 4-2 series and reached the NBA Finals from the West.

Game1 NBA Finals Players

Denver Nuggets’ Roster

PlayersPosition
Nikola JokicC
Jamal MurraySG
Christian Braun SF
Bruce Brown, Jr.SG
Thomas BryantC
Vlatko CancarSF
Aaron GordonSF
Jeff GreenPF
Kentavious Caldwell-PopeSG
Reggie JacksonPG
DeAndre JordanC
Zeke NnajiPG
Ish SmithPG
Michael Porter, Jr. PF
Peyton WatsonGF

Miami Heat’s Roster

PlayersPosition
Bam AdebayoC
Jimmy ButlerSF
Jamal CainF
Udonis HaslemPF
Tyler HeroPG
Haywood HighsmithF
Nikola JovicF
Kevin LovePF
Kyle LowryPG
Caleb MartinSF
Victor OladipoSG
Duncan Robinson F
Orlando RobinsonC
Max StrusSG
Gabe VincentPG
Omer YurtsevenC
Cody ZellerC

Game 1 NBA Finals odds

According to Spread, Heat vs. Nuggets: Nuggets are -8.5" which means that the Denver Nuggets are favored to win the game by a margin of 8.5 points.

Moneyline also indicates the same, the "Nuggets are -400, while the Heat is +310". This shows that the Nuggets are favorites and have a very high probability of winning Game 1.

Game 1 NBA Finals Predictions

The Miami Heat is the underdog team this season, as they reach the NBA finals after being an 8th seed in the regular season. Miami's defense in the postseason is top-notch this year on average they have 7 steals per game, they force the Boston Celtics to play the season's lowest points game (84) in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, and are only giving less than 1.12 points per possession.

But according to the CBS Sports prediction, the Denver Nuggets are winning Game 1 of the Finals. The reason being, firstly the first two games are in their home, Ball Arena and they have not lost since the playoffs begin (8-0) secondly they are incredibly strong when it comes to offense and are scoring with an offensive rating of 119.7 in the playoffs, the best compared to all the teams. Denver’s team coordination, turnover converting into baskets, excellent shooting, assists, and offensive and defensive rebounds rate put it on the positive side concerning Miami Heat.

FAQs

A. Game 1 of the NBA Finals of 2023 will be played on June 1, Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

A. Yes, the NBA Finals also follow the same format as in the regular season. A best-of-seven series is to be played between the final teams in the format 2 2 1 1 1 with the first two games starting in the higher-seeded team or the team with a better regular season record.

A. The 2023 NBA finals will start on June 1 and Game 1 will be played in Denver.

A. As of 2023, both the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics hold the record for the most number of wins in NBA Finals, 17 times.

A. The Golden State Warriors were the champions of the 2021-22 season with Stephen Curry becoming the NBA Finals MVP for the first time in his career.

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