The Miami Heat punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs on Friday night when they beat the Atlanta Hawks in the Play-In Tournament.
That means they are now scheduled to play against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening round of the postseason, and they are definitely the underdogs.
As noted by Nick Camino on X, the Cavaliers hold -2500 odds in the series, while the Heat have +1300 odds.
The oddsmakers believe Cleveland will walk away with this series, but will it be easy?
Cleveland opens as a big favorite according to Vegas oddsmakers…
Series price:
Heat +1300
Cavaliers -2500(odds via @SuperBookNV)
— Nick Camino (@NickCaminoWKYC) April 19, 2025
At this point, no one should ever entirely count out the Heat.
It was only a few years ago when the team surprised everyone by climbing through the Eastern Conference in the playoffs and going all the way to the NBA Finals.
They didn’t win that year, and things haven’t been as smooth since, but the Heat have made a habit of overperforming, surprising people, and doing better than many expected.
With that being said, this is a different year and the Cavs are a different team.
They have been the top team in the East all season and have shown they have what it takes to challenge and defeat just about anyone.
They are the odds-on favorites to win this series, but it’ll get harder down the road, especially as they get closer to the Eastern Conference Finals.
If this series really is as easy as the oddsmakers think, the Cavaliers will be able to rest their starters at times and prepare for what they expect will be a long postseason.
They shouldn’t discount what the Heat will do but, right now, everyone thinks the Cavaliers will win this series with ease.
NEXT: Donovan Mitchell Reveals Why He Re-Signed With Cavs
