Last Look at the Numbers Prior to Start of NBA Finals
Scott Morris | June 1, 2017
Last season the Golden State Warriors squandered a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals and lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, which will be on their when the Warriors tip off Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday against the same Cavaliers.
Golden State opens as the series favorite and the favorite (-7) to win Game 1.
The trio leading Cleveland is LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, while Golden State is led by the trio of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. The six players are arguably six of the best in the entire league.
James returns for his seventh consecutive NBA Finals. The Cavaliers since winning their first NBA title in franchise history added Kyle Korver, Derrick Williams and Deron Williams to the fold, which has made their bench much stronger.
Golden State went out and signed the aforementioned Durant, Zaza Pachulia, Matt Barnes, JaVale McGee and David West.
Even though the rally last year from a deficit of 3-1 by Cleveland went against mean trends and proved that when such heavyweights collide anything can happen, there are interesting trends that sports bettors could use to help them handicap the series.
The total currently at 225.5 might seem very high, but it is for a reason. Cleveland has been on an OVER run cashing the OVER in 15 of its past 21 games.
The OVER is 5-0 during the past five Golden State games and the expectation is at least for Game 1 that the scoring will be lighting up the scoreboard all game long.
Cleveland is 2-5 straight up in its past 7 games against Golden State on the road.
Golden State is 0-5-1 against the spread in its past six games playing at home following consecutive games on the road.
Cleveland is 1-6 SU as well as 2-5 ATS in its past 7 games as a dog of 7 points or less.
Cleveland is currently 12-1 during the postseason, while Golden State is a perfect 12-0.
