NBA Betting Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors Game 1 Odds

The Golden State Warriors had a tougher time than expected disposing of the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round of the NBA playoffs.

Now the defending NBA champions turn their attention to the Oklahoma City Thunder as seven-point home favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals and heavy -400 chalk (bet $400 to win $100) to move on to the next round.

The health of two-time MVP Stephen Curry will be the key to Golden State’s chances of returning to the NBA Finals after he missed six of the team’s first 10 games in the playoffs. The Warriors were 4-2 without Curry but cannot afford to lose him again against the Thunder, who played extremely well in eliminating the San Antonio Spurs following a brutal 124-92 loss in Game 1.

Oklahoma City was able to upset San Antonio by playing outstanding defense in the final five games, limiting the team to 100 points or less and holding LaMarcus Aldridge to almost half of what he averaged in the first two over the last four.

Aldridge averaged 39.5 points on 75 percent shooting in Games 1 and 2 and then saw that fall to 20.5 in Games 3, 4, 5 and 6 without making more than 50 percent of his shots in any of them.

The Thunder lost all three regular-season meetings with Golden State despite playing well in two of them, going 0-2-1 against the spread, according to the Odds Shark NBA Database.

Kevin Durant led the way for Oklahoma City, averaging 36.3 points on 52.9 percent shooting from the field along with 12 rebounds and 6.3 assists. Russell Westbrook also averaged 25 points in the three games but shot only 34.7 percent.

Westbrook was the difference-maker in Game 5 against the Spurs with a series-high 35 points on 44.4 percent shooting, 11 rebounds and nine assists. He will likely need to make more than 40 percent of his shots versus the Warriors and help hold Curry in check if the Thunder are going to advance to the NBA Finals for the second time.