NBA Finals 2017: Odds, Props, Score Prediction for Cavaliers vs. Warriors Game 2

The Golden State Warriors have most outside of the greater Ohio area thinking about 16-0. 

Game 1 of the NBA Finals had a chance to dispel the whispers of such chatter. Detractors could point at weak competition through the first two rounds and an injury to Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs. 

Golden State essentially laughing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in 113-91 fashion on Thursday silenced said detractors.

No team in NBA history has gone through a postseason undefeated, but as the two sides get ready for Sunday's showdown 8 p.m. ET showdown at Oracle Arena, even oddsmakers out of Las Vegas have had a hard time doing anything but protecting the house by backing the Warriors in a big way.

The current spread for Sunday night favors the Warriors by nine, per OddsShark—after opening at seven. Moneylines aren't any better, with the best for Cleveland (+355) and Golden State (-400) showing the disparity. The over/under of 221 feels like a coin flip at best after the opener, in which LeBron James didn't get much in the way of help, created a lopsided blowout.

This dire state of affairs finds further reflection when glancing at series-long odds, especially when the Warriors are a hefty -500 to win it all while Cleveland trails at +350.

Oddsmakers have good reason to fall behind the Warriors as they have—like many feared, the Warriors adding Kevin Durant changed everything about this matchup.

Durant almost casually dropped 38 points alongside eight rebounds and assists each in Game 1, making him one of only two Warriors in double digits. Not that the last point matters much—Durant made LeBron work his tail off on the defensive end of the court for most of the game, creating isolation looks the Warriors lacked last year while coughing up the infamous 3-1 series lead.

As NBA.com pointed out, Durant made some interesting history in the process:

More importantly, though, LeBron looked like the LeBron of old, forced to do it all by himself. He scored 28 on 20 shots while grabbing 15 rebounds and eight assists. Kevin Love struggled inside after a strong series against Boston, and Kyrie Irving needed 22 shots to hit 24 points, dishing all of two assists in the process.

Speaking of assists, the overarching numbers tell the whole story. Golden State dished 31 assists to Cleveland's 15. Durant and the Warriors turned the ball over just four times to Cleveland's 20—12 of which came from LeBron and Irving alone. To top it all off, according to ESPN.com, the Warriors led in fast-break points, points in the paint and points off turnovers.

Stretch it a bit farther. The Warriors lost the battle on the glass by nine and only shot 36.4 percent from deep, yet still won.

All the Cavaliers can do is adapt and try to survive. The chatter coming out of the organization is about leveraging Game 1 as a learning experience.

"Just getting a chance to see how they play, the style of play, how fast they play, you can't really simulate that in practices," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said, according to Stats LLC (via ESPN.com). "You got to really get out here and get a chance to do it firsthand. When we experience that, we're able to adjust, we're a lot better."

This necessary adjustment can go many different ways, though Love struggling down low against the Warriors isn't anything new. Hoping someone else can check Durant into settling for jumpers is much easier said than done. And these are the Warriors—they're not going to stay cold from beyond the arc for long. 

"There's no time to be disappointed," Irving said, according to WKYC's Matthew Florjancic. "I think that (it's) just thinking about the next game, things that we can correct going forward. They capitalized a lot on our mistakes, a lot of transition, easy baskets that we can't allow going into Game 2."

Those looking to nail down a Game 2 prediction while playing the odds can reasonably expect the defending champs to both come with a better game plan and make fewer mistakes.

But is that enough to win outright and trump the odds?

It's a hard idea to promote. Here are some interesting betting takeaways from Stephen Campbell of OddsShark: the Warriors are 5-0 straight up over their last five and 6-1 against the spread over the last seven.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers look like a team accustomed to the weaker Eastern Conference, so a 4-1-1 mark against the spread on the road as of late isn't so encouraging.

It's hard not to draw parallels between this series and last year, where the Warriors stood tall at home and smacked around the Cavaliers twice to go up 2-0. Cleveland similarly looked overwhelmed after a cruise through the Eastern Conference before tightening up the approach and attack.

Maybe events unfold the same way later in this series again. Maybe not. But talking strictly about Game 2, it's hard to see how a Cleveland roster that has changed little since a year ago can counteract the sweeping changes Durant brings to the Warriors.

Sunday night, look for the Cavaliers to play a cleaner game while still having little in the way of answers for Durant, especially while those around him once again start to find their shots from deep after a long layoff.

Prediction: Warriors 123, Cavaliers 104

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. Odds via OddsShark.