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The most anticipated matchup so far in this NBA season will see Cleveland Cavaliers host the Golden State Warriors in a rematch of last year’s finals.
Cleveland (22-6, 15-2 home) has won 9 of the last 10 matches, often times resting Lebron / Kyrie / Love and they are cruising towards another Eastern Conference title. The Cavs didn`t make many changes to last year’s roster and will hope that chemistry works in their favor, as Golden State is clearly the more talented team this season.
The Warriors (27-4, 15-2 away) did suffer a few minor blips this season, mainly due to having to find a new rhythm after the addition of Kevin Durant. Even so, Golden State has the best record in the NBA and is playing the best basketball in the league. They navigated professionally trough two difficult back to back road games before this Cleveland clash (Nets, Pistons), so they will be confident coming into this match. They had a more tiring schedule than Cleveland in the last four days, but in a match like this it will not matter, especialaly as it`s still early in the season.
Bet on Cavs v Warriors and claim your 100% (100 Eur) freebet at Ohmbet.com now!Cleveland broke the Warriors’ hearts last season, coming back from a 3-1 deficict to win 4-3. It was a great achievement for the Cavs, but truth to be told they did get lucky, as Golden State had Draymond Green suspended for Game 5, Bogut out for the last two matches and Iguodala playing hurt in the last two matches. The Cavs were fortunate, just like the Warriors were fortunate two years ago when they met a hurt Cavs team in the finals and won the title.
Now the Cavs will take on a healthy Golden State which added Kevin Durant in the summer, so the mission will be much more difficult for Cleveland to beat Golden State, both in the (potential) finals and in this match.
Golden State will have a huge chip on their shoulder coming into this match and they already stated that they were looking forward to getting revenge in this meeting. The Warriors are a great team when they have something to prove and they never left anything unanswered. I believe we will see their “A game” today and that should be enough to beat the Cavs.
Cleveland will look to exploit Golden State’s lack of rim protection, arguably the only weakness this Warriors team has (along with the possibility of going cold from three on a rare night). The Cavs won last year’s finals because of the injuries / suspensions of Green, Bogut (rim protectors) and Iguodala (defender), by attacking the rim through Kyrie and Lebron. No doubt they will try that again, because even if the Cavs have been great at shooting threes as well, they can`t match the Warriors in that department.
However, I just don`t think Cleveland has enough to match Golden State if the Warriors do not have a bad day. It has to be said that Lebron James has been Kevin Durant’s kryptonite over the years, but if Durant is not at his best (a big “if”), Golden State has Curry and Thompson to step up – and they are due a big game after some average performances.
Last season Golden State won both regular season meetings against the Cavs and won by 34 points in Cleveland in an absolute obliteration!
All in all, fact is that the Warriors are the better team and the chip they have on their shoulder should be enough to nullify Cleveland’s home court advantage. I have to admit odds on Warriors are lower than I hoped for, so I’ll keep the stakes within reason (a few days ago I was thinking 10 units), but I do think that the Warriors will pull off the win here. My tip is a Golden State win. Prediction: Cleveland Cavaliers – Golden State Warriors 105 – 112.
Pick: Warriors
Odds: 1.79 @ Ohmbet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6.32
Event date: 25 December
