A year ago, it was unanimous. Kentucky coach John Calipari was king of the hill in college basketball. Calipari had compiled an NBA farm team that was capable of running the table and inspired a proposition bet on an undefeated season.
Sports Columns
If a slow start trips up the Cleveland Cavaliers, overreactions will be sure to follow. But the NBA season is a marathon, not a sprint, and LeBron James might not be fit to run either right now.
The San Antonio Spurs were the biggest winners in NBA free agency. LaMarcus Aldridge, a 6-foot-11-inch power forward, is an All-Star coming off arguably his best season with Portland. He averaged 23.4 points and 10.2 rebounds while shooting 35 percent from 3-point range.
No matter what changes LeBron James influences, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a better bet to win next year’s NBA championship than the Golden State Warriors are to repeat. The Westgate Las Vegas sports book opened Cleveland as the 9-4 favorite to win the 2015-16 title, with Golden State second at 5-1.
Remember when a parade was being planned in Cleveland? Stephen Curry just rained on it, dropping one 3-pointer after another in the type of surreal shooting display that only seems possible in a video game.
At the drive-thru window, it’s not always wise to super-size the drink and fries. Sometimes, it’s smarter to go smaller. In this case, the Golden State Warriors shoved aside the 7-footer and went with Andre Iguodala.
Once again, LeBron James was all-around amazing, but he blew a shot to win at the end of regulation, setting his team up for another heartbreaking fall in overtime. This loss would have crushed the Cleveland Cavaliers and sent them to the coroner.
LeBron James scored 44 points Thursday but walked off incredibly disappointed, same as everyone who bet on his Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Golden State stole the game and the money in a 108-100 overtime victory. The Cavaliers, 6-point underdogs, controlled most of the game before imploding in the final five minutes.
Cleveland and Golden State form the perfect NBA Finals pair. The feud features two big-time stars and will play well on TV, blow up Twitter and energize Las Vegas sports books. The Warriors, as a minus-210 series favorite, seem to be the wiseguys’ side. The betting public is backing the Cavaliers.
LeBron James’ mission is to lift a pedestrian supporting cast of Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA championship by conquering a superior Golden State Warriors team led by two of the world’s best perimeter shooters. Golden State opened as a minus-270 favorite to win the series and has been bet down to minus-240.
One loss is not enough to put a scare into the Golden State Warriors. But the fear of losing Stephen Curry to a serious injury threatened to change a series in the blink of an eye.
A majority of bettors backed the Chicago Bulls in their must-win spot against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who dominated in a 94-73 win. Favorite bettors also got burned with the Los Angeles Clippers, who blew a 19-point lead with 14 minutes left in a 119-107 loss to the Houston Rockets.
After rolling an ankle, LeBron James overcame the pain. That was the easy part. His toughest challenge was to find a way to win the game while his supporting cast was collapsing and his coach was rendered clueless.
While boring, low-scoring games and ugly basketball continue to pollute the planet, Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors represent the antithesis. The Warriors are entertainment.
Two days after getting rid of Kentucky — and good riddance to those sore losers — a tougher opponent is awaiting Wisconsin. And it’s not the letdown factor. It’s just never easy to beat Mike Krzyzewski.
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