NBA Finals 2015: Cavs vs. Warriors Game 1 Vegas Odds, Prop Bets and Predictions
The Golden State Warriors facing the Cleveland Cavaliers has all the makings of one of the most exciting NBA Finals in years. The matchup doesn't lack for superstars or exciting players or tantalizing matchups on both sides of the court.
So what does Vegas think about this series? And what will actually go down when these teams tip things off on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET?
Let's break it down.
Odds
Per Odds Shark, the Game 1 spread has Golden State as seven-point favorites. That's not terribly surprising, given that the Warriors are 46-3 at home between the regular season and postseason.
As for winning the entire series, Bovada has the Warriors as 1-2 favorites to win the NBA title, while the Cavaliers are coming in with 17-10 odds to earn the crown.
Odds Shark also reported some prop bets for the series. Here are their odds for series MVP:
| 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 |
The site gives Steph Curry 3-2 odds to lead the Warriors in scoring in every game and puts the odds at 1-2 that that won't happen, while LeBron James is being given the same odds to either lead the Cavs in scoring in every game or fail to do so.
Finally, here are the odds for every possible series result, per Odds Shark:
| Cavs win, 4-0 | 18-1 |
| Cavs win, 4-1 | 12-1 |
| Cavs win, 4-2 | 5-1 |
| Cavs win, 4-3 | 6-1 |
| Warriors win, 4-0 | 8-1 |
| Warriors win, 4-1 | 7-2 |
| Warriors win, 4-2 | 4-1 |
| Warriors win, 4-3 | 13-5 |
Prediction
One team has the league MVP, a secondary scorer who is one of the best perimeter shooters in the league, a deep stable of options off the bench, a ton of balance, a style of offense that is tough to defend and arguably the most improved defense in the league.
And the other team has James.
OK, OK, that might be simplifying why the Cavaliers have reached the NBA Finals just a bit. The Cavs also have Kyrie Irving, have gotten impactful performances from players like J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova and, oh yeah, did I mention they have that LeBron guy?
James has been phenomenal in this postseason, putting Cleveland on his back. Even he believes he's playing his best basketball, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com:
"After racking up four MVPs and two championships through his first 11 years in the league, LeBron James has set some pretty lofty standards for himself to match as he continues his career.
Despite his impeccable past body of work, the 12-year veteran said Monday that he believes he is playing the best basketball of his career right now.
"I think if you put it all together, yeah," James said. "If you put everything together as far as my mind, my body, my game. If you put everything in one bottle, this is probably the best I've been."
"
Sure, he's only shooting 42.8 percent from the field and 17.6 percent from beyond the arc, both well below his career averages. On the other hand, when James is nearly averaging a triple-double this postseason (27.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 8.3 assists), who else would you rather have taking the shots he's missed?
So if you are the Warriors, how do you slow down James? Ray Ratto of CSN Bay Area talked to Bleacher Report SXM about that very conundrum:
Of course, maybe the Warriors don't need to slow down James. Maybe having Curry and Klay Thompson raining down threes, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala playing their roles to perfection and Andrew Bogut banging down on the block is enough to win this series. Maybe James, once again, is running into a superior team with his inferior supporting cast.
Maybe this would be different if Kevin Love were healthy, or the Cavs had more than one year to really come together as a unit. But neither is the case, and the Warriors—from the beginning of the season until now—have been the NBA's best team.
That isn't going to change in the NBA Finals. They'll win this series in six games.
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