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The Golden State Warriors will host the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA finals, the fourth straight final in which these two rivals will meet.
The Warriors are coming after a tough series against the Houston Rockets, a series in which they showed some weaknesses and trailed 3-2 before coming back to win the last two matches – including Game 7 on the road. The Rockets didn`t have Chris Paul for Games 6 & 7 and many are saying the Warriors got lucky. That may be the case, but chances are they still would have won it, as they were the better team overall and were pretty unfortunate themselves to fall down 2-3 in the first place (they also missed Iguodala in the last 4 games).
The Cavaliers also advanced to the finals by winning a Game 7 on the road, against the Boston Celtics. It has been a very difficult road for Cleveland, which looked shaky all season and had big problems in two playoff series, needing 7 games to defeat both the Celtics and the Pacers. Lebron James really doesn`t have any help. The Cavs role players are barely starting material in this league, and they have quite honestly been straight garbage with the exception of Kevin Love (who is questionable for Game 1) and Kyle Korver.
Team news: The Warriors will continue to be without Andre Iguodala, who did not play in the last 4 games for them. The Cavs might miss Kevin Love for a second straight game, as he is still under concussion protocol and is questionable for Game 1. His absence would hurt the Cavs, as he`s their second best player, but even if he plays he isn`t expected to be a difference maker in this series.
Bet on Warriors vs Cavaliers and claim your 100% (100 Eur) bonus at Ohmbet now!Despite having problems in the previous round with the Houston Rockets, the Warriors remain hands down the best team in the NBA, and a deserving overwhelming favorite against these Cavs.
Even if the Rockets gave them some trouble, we`re talking about an exceptional Rockets team, much better than the Cavs. And whoever says the Warriors won just because Chris Paul got injured is in the wrong. The Dubs were still the better team when Paul was on the floor, despite being down 2-3. They were unlucky to lose two very close games which they controlled for the most part. In the first five games (before Paul’s injury), the Warriors were still outscoring the Rockets 536-511 (!!) despite losing 3 of those. They would have been the favorites to win Games 6 & 7 even with Chris Paul healthy for the Rockets.
The Cavs on the other hand are just not good right now. They are here because of Lebron’s heroics, but even those heroics must be put into perspective, because the Eastern Conference was, simply put, bad. The Cavs played an Indiana team which wouldn`t even sniff the playoffs in the West, they played a Raptors side which has and always had a huge matchup problem with Lebron, and then they went 7 games against a young, inexperienced Celtics side which was missing its best two players!
This is arguably the most one sided final in the last 16 years, definitely much more one sided than the one last year – when the Warriors steamrolled the Cavs (which had Kyrie Irving) 4-1. This time, chances are it will be a sweep.
As far as Game 1 is concerned, the handicap on the Warriors looks pretty tasty here. The point spread is set at -12, which might seem high at a first glance, but it really isn`t when you consider the difference between these two sides, and Golden State’s ability to score in bunches.
There`s also the very important fact that Golden State always comes out strong in Game 1. There`s just something about them in the opening game, similar to the famous love story they have with the third quarter.
Since their emergence in 2014/2015, the Warriors have won 14 out of 15 Game 1’s in the playoffs, and did it by an average margin of 12.73 points per game.
Since they added Kevin Durant, they won 7 out of 7 Game 1’s by an average margin of 14.86 points – and only once by less than 12 points.
The Warriors have also been utterly dominant against the Cavs at home lately, winning their last 5 meetings at Oracle by an average margin of 18.4 points. Last year in the finals they smoked Cleveland in Game 1 by 22 points, and that was a much better Cavs side.
Given the difference in quality between these two teams and Golden State’s history of always coming out strong in Game 1’s, a blowout win seems on the cards on Thursday night. The Dubs are just too good for this Cavs side and they will have a positive mismatch almost everywhere on the floor (especially if Love won`t play) with the exception of Durant vs Lebron. Matchups like Curry vs Hill or Thompson vs JR Smith are just horrifyingly scary for the Cavs.
My tip is Golden State to win and cover the 12 point (asian) handicap, and I will go with 10 units on this one. Prediction: Golden State Warriors – Cleveland Cavaliers 125 – 97.
Pick: Warriors -12
Odds: 1.96 @ 1xBet
Stake: 10
Possible profit: 9.60
Event date: 1 June
