Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors: Game 1 Odds, Betting Stats

Game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals tips off Thursday, and the extra time off has not really swayed bettors from the opening line, with the Golden State Warriors sitting as six-point home favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Golden State has lost two of the last three regular-season meetings between the teams, failing to cover the spread in three of the past four following a six-game winning streak in the series, with each of those victories coming against Cleveland without LeBron James.

James is the key player in the series, making his fifth straight appearance in the NBA Finals after the previous four all took place when he was a member of the Miami Heat.

While James finished third in NBA MVP voting this year behind winner Stephen Curry of the Warriors, the two-time league champion will lean on his postseason experience here and can affect the game in more ways as scorer, rebounder, passer and defender.

Curry is the 5/8 favorite to win NBA Finals MVP honors, but James is a solid wager as the 17/10 second choice if you believe the Cavaliers have a shot to pull off the upset.

Cleveland swept the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals and has used the valuable time off to rest up and get healthy since winning Game 4 in a 118-88 rout on May 26. James was struggling with cramps at the end of that series, while point guard Kyrie Irving missed Games 2 and 3 due to a knee injury.

The Cavaliers went 3-1 against the spread in their series sweep against Atlanta, according to the OddsShark NBA database.

Meanwhile, Golden State needed five games to knock out the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals and had one less day off because the series finished on May 27. Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson suffered a concussion in the clinching 104-90 Game 5 victory, but he has been cleared to play the series opener against Cleveland.

Golden State has struggled ATS at times throughout the postseason, especially at home with a 3-5 mark at Oracle Arena despite going 7-1 there straight-up.