NBA Christmas Day Betting Preview: Warriors vs. Cavaliers Highlights Slate
They have not met since June 19, when the Cleveland Cavaliers upset the Golden State Warriors 93-89 as five-point road underdogs on the NBA betting lines to win their first-ever NBA championship.
On Christmas Day, bettors will finally get the rematch they have been waiting for when the Cavaliers host the Warriors, who are -140 betting favorites (wager $140 to win $100) to win their second league title in three years at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.
Of course, Golden State was favored last year too and lost to Cleveland in the Finals.
The Warriors blew a 3-1 series lead to the Cavs—who are the +275 second choice (bet $100 to win $275) to capture back-to-back championships—due in part to Draymond Green’s suspension in Game 5 that seemed to turn the tide of the series. Golden State lost two of the three games in Cleveland, with each decided by double digits.
While that is the featured matchup of the day, four other NBA games will be played on Christmas, tipping off with the Boston Celtics visiting the New York Knicks in a key Atlantic Division clash. Both teams are chasing the Toronto Raptors for the division lead, and they will be squaring off for only the second time this year.
In the first meeting on November 11, the Celtics crushed the Knicks 115-87 as five-point home chalk behind 29 points from Isaiah Thomas. Boston has won seven of the past eight meetings in the series (5-3 against the spread), according to the OddsShark NBA Database.
Later in the day, three Western Conference teams will play host to wrap up the day’s betting action in somewhat lopsided matchups. Pau Gasol and the San Antonio Spurs will meet his former team the Chicago Bulls before the young Minnesota Timberwolves face the Oklahoma City Thunder and the battle of Los Angeles takes place between the Clippers and Lakers.
The Spurs have lost three of the last five meetings (1-4 ATS) with the Bulls, the Timberwolves have dropped 11 of 12 (5-7 ATS) versus the Thunder and the Lakers have gone winless in 11 consecutive games (5-6 ATS) against the Clippers.
