NBA Finals: Warriors favored, but bettors flocking to Cavaliers
The oddsmakers like Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors to defeat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, but there's still plenty of public faith in King James.
The Cavaliers entered the regular season and postseason as odds-on favorites, and betting money has flowed towards them since they were listed as heavy underdogs once The Finals matchup was set more than a week ago.
According to ESPN's David Purdum, 80 percent of the action at the Westgate SuperBook has been put on Cleveland, a similar story playing out up and down the Las Vegas strip.
Still, the Warriors are favorites for a reason.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Warriors | 1-2 |
| Cavaliers | 17-10 |
(courtesy: Bovada)
The Warriors finished with a league-best 67-15 record in the regular season and have traversed a far trickier path to the Finals as compared to the Cavaliers. The Warriors also have home-court advantage and a fairly clean bill of health.
Through June 3, the odds for each potential series outcome are listed below.
| Winner | Series Result | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Cavaliers | 4-0 | 18-1 |
| Cavaliers | 4-1 | 12-1 |
| Cavaliers | 4-2 | 5-1 |
| Cavaliers | 4-3 | 6-1 |
| Warriors | 4-0 | 8-1 |
| Warriors | 4-1 | 7-2 |
| Warriors | 4-2 | 4-1 |
| Warriors | 4-3 | 13-5 |
(courtesy: Bovada)
A bevy of prop bets are also available, including Finals MVP odds. The oddsmakers like Curry to win over James, which makes sense given that Curry's Warriors are favored to win the series.
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Stephen Curry | 5-8 |
| LeBron James | 17-10 |
| Klay Thompson | 12-1 |
| Kyrie Irving | 12-1 |
| Draymond Green | 14-1 |
| J.R. Smith | 30-1 |
| Tristan Thompson | 40-1 |
| Harrison Barnes | 40-1 |
| Andrew Bogut | 100-1 |
| Andre Iguodala | 125-1 |
| Timofey Mozgov | 200-1 |
(Courtesy: Bovada)
While the Warriors enjoyed an all-around season for the ages, it's worth noting that the Cavs actually boasted the league's best record over the final three months of the season (Jan.15 to Apr.15), finishing the year on a 34-9 tear after a disappointing 19-20 start, with a rested James and the acquisitions of Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith, and Iman Shumpert spurring the mid-season turnaround.
The two teams split their regular-season series, with the Warriors winning at Oracle Arena in January and the Cavaliers returning the favor at Quicken Loans Arena in February.
Game 1 tips off on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET, with the Warriors a six-point favorite in the series opener.