NBA Finals 2020: Updated Championship Odds, TV Schedule and Prediction

LeBron James has played in the NBA Finals 10 times—five with the Cleveland Cavaliers, four with the Miami Heat and now one with the Los Angeles Lakers. He won two NBA titles with the Heat and another with the Cavaliers. Yet James has never had an NBA Finals start like this year's.

On Friday night, James' Lakers notched a 124-114 victory over the Heat in Game 2 of the NBA Finals at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World in Florida. It's the first time that a James-led team has taken a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals.

Los Angeles still has to close the series out strong to win its first NBA title since 2010, but it's certainly off to a good start. And with James leading the way, there's a good chance the Lakers will be able to keep this momentum rolling.

Here's a look at the schedule for the rest of the series, updated NBA title odds and predictions for how the rest of this year's NBA Finals will go.

2020 NBA Finals Schedule

Game 1: Los Angeles won 116-98

Game 2: Los Angeles won 124-114

Game 3: Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Game 4: Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET, ABC

Game 5 (if necessary): Friday at 9 p.m. ET, ABC

Game 6: (if necessary): Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Game 7 (if necessary): Oct. 13 at 9 p.m. ET, ABC

NBA Title Odds

Los Angeles Lakers -7000 (bet $7,000 to win $100)

Miami Heat +2400 (bet $100 to win $2,400)

Odds obtained via FanDuel.

Series Prediction

Things aren't looking great for the Heat through the first two games of the NBA Finals. And they may not be getting much better in the upcoming days.

In Game 1, Miami lost a pair of starters in point guard Goran Dragic (torn left plantar fascia) and forward Bam Adebayo (neck strain), both of whom then missed Game 2. Without those two, the Heat didn't play bad, shooting 50.7 percent from the field and mostly keeping the game in reach. But the Lakers led nearly the entire way and did enough to prevent a Miami comeback.

While the Heat's deficit can partially be attributed to their health, it also doesn't help them that the Lakers are playing so well. Los Angeles shot 50.5 percent from the field in Game 2, hit 16 3-pointers and won the rebounding battle 44-37.

So, while it's possible the Heat get a win at some point, it seems highly unlikely they're going to come back and win the series. The Lakers will most likely complete the sweep, continuing to play at a high level and getting the best of a Heat team dealing with injuries.

Los Angeles continues to get stellar performances from its superstar duo of James and Anthony Davis, and that isn't likely to stop. James and Davis have powered the Lakers through the playoffs, during which they haven't lost more than one game in a series.

Yet on Friday night, James and Davis did something remarkable, even for them. According to the Associated Press, they were the first Lakers teammates to each score at least 30 points in an NBA Finals game since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in 2002.

"It's very humbling that we can be even mentioned with those greats," James said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

James had 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in Game 2, while Davis had 32 points and 14 rebounds. Combined, they shot 29-for-45 from the field.

Although a 2-0 deficit is difficult to overcome, especially on the large stage of the NBA Finals, it's been done before. In fact, the Heat did it in 2006, when they lost the first two games to the Dallas Mavericks before bouncing back with four straight victories to secure the NBA title.

It's going to be much more difficult to do against the Lakers, and if Dragic and Adebayo don't return (or continue to be limited by their injuries), there's a decent chance the Heat won't win another game in the series.

With Bryant and O'Neal in 2002, Los Angeles swept the New Jersey Nets. This time, the Lakers will earn another sweep as they win their 17th NBA title to match the Boston Celtics for the all-time mark.