NBA Finals: Warriors Favored To Win NBA Title Over LeBron’s Cavaliers
USA Today
After making easy work of the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals, the Golden State Warriors will face off against LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Although James and company also cruised to the Final after destroying the Atlanta Hawks in a four-game sweep, the Cavaliers will head into this series with the Warriors as underdogs.
According to Sportsbook.ag, the Warriors are favored to win it all at the expense of the Cavaliers with a moneyline of -215.
These two NBA powerhouses split their season-series with the Warriors coming out on top in their first matchup back on Jan. 9 at Oracle Arena, 112-94. Cleveland was able to bounce back in their second and final regular-season showdown with Golden State back at home on Feb. 26, 110-99.
Golden State will have home-court advantage throughout this series with Game 1 getting underway on June 4 in the Bay Area. The Warriors are favored to come out on top in Game 1 with a -5.5 point spread, via Sportsbook.ag.
There’s no question that both of these teams are extremely talented up and down their rosters, but there will be some health issues for both team heading into this series. Sharpshooter Klay Thompson is currently dealing with a concussion sustained in the series-clinching Game 5 against the Houston Rockets. Thompson is expected to play in Game 1 regardless with plenty of time between series to get ready for the Finals.
As for Cleveland, the Eastern Conference heavyweights have been without star forward Kevin Love throughout the majority of the playoffs. Love sustained a dislocated shoulder injury in the first round against the Boston Celtics and has undergone surgery ruling him out for the rest of the postseason.
Kyrie Irving’s health will be the major concern for the Cavaliers with the point guard dealing with a number of injuries. Irving missed two games in the Eastern Conference Finals with tendinitis in his left knee.
As of right now, Irving is heading into this series expected to play and start at point guard. Cleveland has continued to play at a high level regardless of Irving’s injury issues and without Love, but they’ll be facing arguably the best all-around team in the league and without a doubt their biggest challenge in the postseason.
