2017 NBA Finals Betting Lines Don’t Paint The Whole Picture
The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers will tip off Game 1 of their third consecutive finals meeting on Thursday, June 1 at 9 pm eastern time. The Warriors beat the Cavs in 6 in 2015, and the Cavs beat the Warriors in 7 in 2016 so this year’s finals will be the tie breaker of this growing rivalry.
This will be LeBron James’ unprecedented seventh straight finals appearance dating back to his first year with the Miami Heat in 2010 and while his Cavs are the defending champions, they are significance underdogs. In fact, the Cavs have been underdogs going into each of their finals matchups against the Warriors so this is nothing new for them.
Betting On The 2017 NBA Finals
The Warriors have swept every team they have faced in the playoffs and are going into the finals with a 12 and 0 playoff record and have been resting for 10 days. For those of you interested in betting on the 2017 NBA Finals, Bovada has all of the lines you could need. They list Golden State’s odds to win the 2017 NBA Finals at -240, while the Cavaliers are sitting at +200. They also have Game 1 betting lines for the NBA Finals that show the Warriors are a 7 point favorite to take the first game of the series at home. A bet on the underdog Cleveland Cavaliers to win the NBA Finals is worth $200 if you put down $100 while the payout when betting on Golden State would net you just $100 on a $240 bet.
So far this postseason the Warriors are 12 and 0 straight up on the betting lines but 8 and 4 against the spread. Cleveland has had very similar success thus far in the postseason as well. They have gone 11 and 1, dropping just one game to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Championship by way of a buzzer beater. The Cavs are 12 and 1 straight up and 7-4-2 against the spread.
What’s Different From Last Year?
A year ago, Cleveland completed the biggest series comeback in NBA Finals history by winning the championship after being down 3 games to 1. This came after the Warriors notched the best regular season record in NBA history at an insane 73-9 and seemed unbeatable but the Cavaliers didn’t quit and LeBron James was unstoppable.
That being said, this will likely be the toughest Warriors team to date, as the team added 2013-14 MVP and eight-time all-star Kevin Durant to an already loaded starting lineup with two-time MVP Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. To round out that starting five, the Dubs brought in pesky big man Zaza Pachulia to add more attitude and toughness inside.
The Cavs did a nice job bolstering their roster as well as they traded for sharpshooter Kyle Korver before the All-Star break and signed Deron Williams to fill a glaring hole at the backup point guard position. The big three for Cleveland (LeBron, Kyrie, and Kevin Love) have been outstanding thus far in the playoffs and will need for that level of play to continue through the Finals if they have a chance.
On paper, BestUSASportsbooks.com thinks the Warriors seem like the inevitable winner but it’s never smart to count out King James. Two years ago he took the Warriors to six games, essentially by himself after Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving both sustained injuries. The betting lines may point to a clear favorite but make no mistake about it, this NBA Finals is sure to be as action packed and exciting as last years, maybe even more so. I would get your bets in now as to not miss out on any of the action.