Heat Odds to Win Eastern Conference Shorten to +1200 After 2-1 Week Without Butler

• The Miami Heat have won two of their first three games to start the season
• One of the wins was at Milwaukee, beating the Bucks 131-126
• The Heat have yet to play a game with star Jimmy Butler, who is still out after the birth of a child

The Miami Heat have had a really positive start to the 2019-20 NBA season. After winning two of their first three games and appearing better than expected, they’re now at +1200 to win the Eastern Conference.

Their hot start for the Heat also came without stat offseason acquisition Jimmy Butler, who has yet to play a game following the birth of his child.

Are they a good investment at this point?

Odds to Win the NBA’s Eastern Conference

Odds taken October 28th.

Heat Have Impressed Early On

It’s about as early as it gets in the season but the Heat have looked like a fairly quality team so far. They picked up a comfortable win over the Memphis Grizzlies, went to Milwaukee and beat the Bucks, and then lost on Sunday in a back-to-back situation in Minnesota to a Timberwolves team that’s 3-0.

What’s more is that the Heat have done this without star Jimmy Butler, who is out due to the birth of a child. The team figures to improve when their best player returns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwrK8jAkNpE

Rookie Kendrick Nunn is the team’s leading scorer right now, which is a big surprise. He’s leading the team with 22.3 points per game. Meanwhile, the core of Goran Dragic, Justise Winslow, Bam Adebayo and the team’s first-round rookie, Tyler Herro, have all looked pretty good too.

How Will Butler’s Return Affect Chemistry?

Although Butler is the centerpiece of this team, it’s worth wondering if he’ll fit right in or if he’ll throw the chemistry off.  After all, he’s done both in the past.

Guys like Winslow and Dragic are averaging 19.0 points per game but they’re not going to be touching the ball as much when Butler is back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeoPe0NZ3H8

Winslow, in particular, has been stellar as he’s averaging 19.0 points per game with 9.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists while also averaging 1.0 blocks, steals and threes. Now in his fifth season, it feels like the 23-year-old is ready to break out. If that’s the case and Butler has a Robin to his Batman, this team could be legit.

Don’t Bet the Heat…Yet

Sure, the win at Milwaukee was nice but let’s not overreact. This has been a nice start but going from that to winning the East is a completely different story.

There are a lot of things to potentially like about the Heat. They have an excellent head coach, they play strong defense and they have a lot of talent on the roster. Youngsters like Adebayo, Winslow, Herro and Duncan Robinson have all flashed.

At the same time, it’s a lot to put together in one season and actually challenge for an Eastern Conference championship. There are teams that are far closer to being ready for it than them, including the Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics.

It’s worth keeping an eye on – especially when Butler returns – but until I see them piling up the wins with him in the lineup, I’m not interested in the +1200 here.