Cavaliers vs. Warriors: Game 1 Finals Odds, TV Schedule and Predictions
There's finally an end in sight to a more than weeklong layoff entering the 2015 NBA Finals. But that won't come before at least a few more days of anticipation prior to Thursday's Game 1 tipoff between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The talking points are numerous in nature, from the battle of first-year head coaches to a duel between two of today's biggest NBA superstars. Add to that the inevitable madness that will ensue should the Warriors end a 40-year title drought or the Cavs notch the first Cleveland major sports title in half a century, and unforgettable moments are guaranteed in the coming weeks.
Needless to say, Game 1 can't come soon enough. Let's take a look at what you need to know for Thursday's opening game.
2015 NBA Finals: Game 1
| Thu., June 4 | Cleveland at Golden State (-6) | 9 p.m. | ABC | GSW 5-12, CLE 2-1 |
Odds courtesy of Odds Shark, last updated June 1.
Game 1 Preview
In the championship of any organized sport, the buck stops with who has the better overall team. But in a star-centric league such as the NBA, it starts with the individual matchups, and there are none more enticing than the impending battle between LeBron James and Stephen Curry for the 2015 title.
Experience pulls heavily in James' favor as he embarks on his fifth straight Finals appearance and sixth overall, but this will be by far his toughest challenge yet. He takes a young Cleveland team that he just recently rejoined, which has been missing some of its integral parts and relying on midseason acquisitions to navigate through the Eastern Conference playoffs without much trouble.
But when James and company enter Oracle Arena on Thursday night, they'll step in front of 19,596 fans that have been eyeing their first title since 1975. Based on how their Warriors performed through a 67-win regular season and how they have kept it going throughout the postseason, their chances of doing so have only gotten better.
So much has gone into these two teams' success this season, but neither would have been possible without its leader. While James has been established as the league's most unstoppable player for some time, Curry has quickly joined the ranks, as Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group observed:
Both teams have serviceable options to stop the other star, but doing so won't be easy. Kyrie Irving hasn't been at 100 percent all postseason and will need defensive help from Matthew Dellavedova against Curry while the Warriors' Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala will have their hands full with James.
But as they say, it's a team game. And as such, Curry and James will only be the start to their respective units' chances.
The Warriors have employed a deep bench that has remained dangerous during the postseason—it's so deep that former All-Star David Lee plays less than 10 minutes per night. That bench help is huge, but Curry's fellow backcourt ace Klay Thompson needs to be locked and loaded as well. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports offered an update on his concussion suffered in Game 5 against Houston:
The Cavs themselves have been stroking it from deep this postseason, with J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert doing most of the damage, but much of that can be stymied with defense of James. Teams' affinity for double-teaming him inevitably leaves shooters wide open, which can't happen if the Warriors want to enjoy their usual advantage at the three-point line.
Deep shooting figures to be a game-changer between two of the NBA's three-point heavy teams, but setting the tone inside is even more imperative in a physical playoff series. Golden State will rely on big minutes from Draymond Green along with a platoon of Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli to keep the Cavaliers off the boards.
It's no secret that limiting Tristan Thompson on the glass will play heavily in the Warriors' favor, as the power forward's inclusion in the starting lineup to replace the injured Kevin Love has been crucial, as Hardwood Paroxysm noted:
"Since Game 2 of the Bulls series, the Cavs are 11.7 points better per 100 possessions with Thompson on the floor than off.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) May 31, 2015"
Thompson's energy on the glass has been more than crucial for the Cavs, dominating the offensive boards and generating numerous extra possessions per game. With Golden State set on keeping James from attacking, it won't be interested in conceding those extra looks.
So yes, it all starts with the dream-like matchup between James and Curry that should sell the newspapers and draw the eye of the average fan. But so much more will go into deciding whether James can hoist his third title or whether Curry can deliver that long-awaited title back to the Bay Area.
Game 1 Prediction: Warriors Win 101-95
With the experience of James and the talent around him, you'd like the Cavaliers to be able to take some early punches from Golden State and figure out ways to respond. But as has been the case with these Warriors all season, that early punch is all but inevitable.
A week of rest figures to help Irving be quicker than he's been thus far in the playoffs, but he'll need to hit the ground running if he's going to keep up with Curry. Derrick Rose ran circles around Irving in the second round, and Curry is just at another level right now.
Defensive lapses from Cleveland will resurface and allow Golden State the looks from outside that it covets. The Cavs will flex their muscle on the glass, and James' greatness will keep them close—but not enough to steal Game 1.
