The Warriors are a minus-260 series favorite over the Cavaliers (plus-220) in the NBA Finals, which start Thursday at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. Here’s a survey of opinions from Review-Journal staff members, other media, oddsmakers and professional handicappers.
After blowing a 3-1 lead last year and adding a former MVP, the pressure is squarely on the Warriors. As an underdog after finally bringing a banner home to Cleveland, LeBron James is playing with house money.
NBA Finals series price: Cleveland Cavaliers plus-220, Golden State Warriors minus-260.
We have been waiting nearly a year for the inevitable rematch of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. And so we must wait a few more days to get part three of this trilogy.
The Cavaliers eliminated Boston in a 135-102 blowout Thursday night to set the stage for the highly-anticipated threequel with the Warriors that thankfully promises to be more like “Rocky III” than “The Hangover Part III.”
Kevin Durant opened as the 7-5 favorite to win the NBA Finals MVP, Steph Curry was the 8-5 second choice and three-time Finals MVP LeBron James was the 2-1 third choice.
One William Hill bettor at Casino Valle Verde in Henderson won $17,000 after wagering $1,000 on Boston at 17-1 odds.
Despite the Celtics having home-court advantage in the conference finals against the Cavaliers, defending NBA champion Cleveland is heavily favored to win the series and is a 4-point favorite in Game 1 on Wednesday in Boston.
All it took was one of the greatest comebacks in NBA playoff history to make a winner of a CG Technology bettor who wagered $262,000 to win $37,000 on Golden State on the money line.
Home teams are 101-26 (79.5 percent) in NBA Game 7s and the numbers support a play on Boston, a 5-point favorite over Washington on Monday at the TD Garden.
