The Miami Heat are the consensus betting favorite to win the Southeast Division at -165 odds, according to DraftKings. The Atlanta Hawks their only legitimate competition this season at +170 odds.
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra advises Jimmy Butler during the 2022 NBA playoffs. The Heat will try to win the Southeast Division in consecutive seasons. (Image: Getty)After winning the Southeast Division four seasons in a row during the LeBron James era, the Heat won the division crown every other season since 2014. The Heat are seeking their first back-to-back Southeast title since the height of the LeBron regime in South Beach. Meanwhile, the Hawks will attempt to win their second Southeast crown in the last three seasons.
2022-23 NBA Southeast Division OddsMiami Heat -165Atlanta Hawks +170Charlotte Hornets +1400Washington Wizards +2000Orlando Magic +20000*** Odds via DraftKings
The Heat are one of five teams in the Eastern Conference that could win the NBA title this season. DraftKings lists the Heat at +800 odds to win the Eastern Conference and +2000 odds to win the NBA Championship outright.
Miami Heat -165Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat secured the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs last season with a 53-29 record and the best home record in the East last season at 29-12. Heading into the upcoming season, the Heat have a win projection of 48.5 o/u this season.
Despite injuries to key players like Butler, Tyler Herro, and Kyle Lowry during the 2022 postseason, the Heat were a missed shot away from winning the Eastern Conference. That would have secured a second trip to the NBA finals in the last three seasons.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra and the Heat are less focused on winning the Southeast Division than they are about peaking at the right time for a deep postseason run. The Heat are still the team to beat in the Southeast, and you can back them at -165 odds to win the division in consecutive seasons.
Butler (21.4 ppg, 5.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists), Tyer Herro (20.7 ppg), and Bam Adebayo (19.1 ppg, 10.1 rebounds) anchor the Heat. Herro won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award, and he provides instant offense off the bench as the team s second-best scorer. Herro is the team’s biggest defensive liability when he s on the court, but they find ways to make up for it.
The Heat selected Nikola Jović with a late first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Jović was considered the top European prospect in last year s draft, but the 6-foot-11 big man is a work in progress.
The Heat could add with the Phoenix Suns. Crowder was an integral part of their run to the 2020 NBA Finals, and he s the type of 3-and-D veteran that Spoelstra would love to have on the floor in the postseason.
Atlanta Hawks +170The Atlanta Hawks are the only team in the Southeast that can give the Heat any trouble this season. However, the Hawks are in a team in flux.
The Hawks got hot in the 2021 postseason and secured a trip to the Eastern Conference finals, so they had a lot of expectations heading into last season. The Hawks struggled with a 43-39 record in 2021-22 and only secured the #8 seed through the Play-In Tournament. The Heat easily knocked the Hawks out in five games in the opening round because no one other than Trae Young could consistently find easy buckets.
The Hawks addressed their biggest problem this off-season by shoring up their defense. They acquired Dejounte Murray in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs but had to give up three first-round picks. Murray established himself as one of the best two-way players in the NBA, averaging 21.1 points and 9.2 assists per game last season.
With Murray and Young in the same backcourt, the Hawks now have the first 20/9 tandem in NBA history as the only players to average 20-plus points and at least nine assists per game in the previous season.
The Hawks must figure out what to do with an unhappy John Collins. The big man has been growing more distant from the team after his role in the offensive diminished with the ascension of Young as one of the elite scorers in the NBA. Collins requested a trade last season, and we ll see if the Hawks finally get rid of him.
With the addition of Murray to bolster the defense, the Hawks are expected to have a much better season than last year, with a win total of 45.5 o/u. The Hawks are the second favorite on the futures board at +170 odds to win the Southeast.
