Warriors – Cavaliers

The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers will square off in arguably the most anticipated NBA final of all time, and the Warriors will open up the series on their home court after they finished with the best record in the regular season.

The Warriors have swept through the playoff so far, compiling a 12-0 record and routinely blowing opponents off the court. They did get lucky in the Western Conference finals when Kawhi Leonard got injured in Game 1 for the Spurs, but overall the Warriors played a great level of basketball and deserve to be favorites in the Finals. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are playing lights out basketball, validating KD’s move from OKC in the summer.

Cleveland had a similar road to the finals, losing just 1 game (a fluke defeat against Boston) and posting a 12-1 postseason record. They did have slightly more problems than the Warriors overall, but their level of play was excellent nonetheless. Lebron James has been the best player in these playoffs, while Irving and Love are playing at an all star level as well.

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Team news: Zaza Pachulia was questionable for Game 1 but he has been deemed fit to play, so both teams should be at full strength. However, Warriors coach Steve Kerr might continue to miss due to illness.

The Cavs did beat the Warriors in the final last season, making history in coming back from a 1-3 deficit, but It`s hard to see anything like that happening again. Not only have the Warriors added Kevin Durant, but Cavs were very lucky to win last year, as Golden State had Curry playing hurt the entire series, Draymond Green was suspended for Game 5, they lost Bogut for the last two games and Iguodala was badly hurt in the last two games as well.

This season the two teams met twice, with Cavs winning by 1 point in December in Cleveland, while Golden State won at home by 35 points.

The Warriors are simply the better team and have been marvelous in the last few months, showing next to no flaws. While LeBron James can never be underestimated, he shouldn`t be overestimated either – and at the moment his impact is overrated, big time. While he is great, so are Curry or Durant, and he is just one player. He will have a tough time dominating on both defense and offense against this Warriors team, who simply has too many weapons.

Look for Cavs’ defense to be an Achilles heel for them, they have too many old guys around Lebron and have been allowing a ton of points even against poor opposition in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Against the Warriors, that defense will be a massive problem.

Cleveland will need huge performances from Irving and James, as well as to dominate inside the paint. However, Dubs should hold their own inside with Pachulia and McGee, as well as Draymond Green and Durant. They have protected the rim well this season and that was theoretically their only weakness.

Curry and Durant seem to have finally figured out how to both be effective at the same time and that has made Golden State unstoppable. While Durant has struggled a bit in the past against Lebron and / or on the big stage, Steph has been the 2nd best player in these playoffs and looks to be at his absolute best, as opposed to last year, when he was injured. The Dubs don`t even need both to be at their best, one is enough.

Both teams may be a little bit rusty at the start after a 1 week break, but should get in rhythm quickly. I think the Dubs are clearly the superior team and I expect them to prove that the bookies and the media made a mistake by not considering them even bigger favorites.

Honestly I wanted to buy 1 or 2 extra points from the handicap for extra safety, but the difference in the odds is too big to make it worth it. For example, the -6 stands at ~1.75 while the -7 stands at over 1.90. As such, my tip is Warriors to cover a 7 point spread. Prediction: Golden State Warriors – Cleveland Cavaliers 117 – 105.

Pick: Warriors -7
Odds: 1.94 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.52
Event date: 2 June