NBA Finals 2016: Odds and Predictions for Championship Series

Las Vegas likes the Cleveland Cavaliers out of the Eastern Conference in the 2016 NBA Finals.

It's not too hard to see why—the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors are still gridlocked in the Western Conference Finals while LeBron James and Co. get to sit back and rest.

That's not the only reason, of course. Cleveland only losing two games the entire postseason is certainly one way to change the narrative surrounding the championship series, which previously looked like a Western Conference wash.

Here's a look at the odds and predictions for the 2016 Finals. 

Championship Odds

Team	Odds
Golden State Warriors	300
Cleveland Cavaliers	+110
Oklahoma City Thunder	+200

Predictions

The Team to Meet Cleveland is...

...Oklahoma City.

This might be a different story if Stephen Curry and the Warriors hadn't dug themselves such a hole. Going down 3-1 to a team headlined by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook isn't ideal, though, to say the least.

Golden State stayed alive in Game 5, 120-111, but did so at home while getting 31 points from Curry and dominating the paint, outscoring the Thunder down low 48-30.

A repeat seems unlikely, though. Look at the two games that have already occurred in Oklahoma City. Game 3 was a 133-105 whipping in favor of the Thunder. It was more of the same in Game 4, a 118-94 throttling.

Just ask Curry, who understands how tough it is to go on the road in this series.

"It will take all of our IQ, all of our gamesmanship, and just 48 great minutes to get a win down there, considering how the last two games have gone," Curry said, according to ESPN.com.

The Thunder have simply been the better team this series. As a bonus, Durant and Co. have displayed a newfound maturity over the course of the playoff bracket and understand letting this go to Game 7 and returning to Golden State is a death knell.

In the past, it would have been easy to expect the Thunder would choke. But the team that has already bested the San Antonio Spurs won't blink in the face of the pressure and will instead use the home-court advantage to end the series.

Finals Prediction 

Cavaliers-Thunder is far from the most appealing Finals matchup the NBA would have likely hoped to draw. 

Still, it's a draw. James getting a ring for Cleveland writes itself, and it's always important to keep in mind the Association continues to inch closer and closer to Durant's trip to free agency this summer.

Storylines aside, the rest advantage will play a huge factor in the potential showdown.

Not only will Cleveland enter the Finals fresher, James and Co. didn't have any problems taking care of business against the Thunder this year. A December showdown in Cleveland went to the Cavaliers 104-100 before a February encounter in Oklahoma City also went to the Cavaliers in crushing 115-92 fashion.

Such a strong showing against a potential championship contender might have been a good sign of things to come. The Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons in Round 1 with relative ease then did the same to the Atlanta Hawks in the semifinals.

The Finals were a tad trickier, but only because the Toronto Raptors could pull out two games at home. Game 6, also in Toronto, was a 113-87 shellacking in which James erupted for 33 and Kyrie Irving added 30.

That's been the summary of the postseason, too, James getting help in a big way from either Kevin Love or Irving each time out.

It's the main reason this time feels different for James, according to ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin: "There's definitely a different feeling. I didn't appreciate last year myself personally on getting to the Finals. Just so much was going on in my mind, knowing that Kev was out for the rest of the season and knowing that Ky was dealing with injuries all the way from the first round."

Fully healthy and clicking, the Cavaliers have the ammunition to take down the Thunder as per the usual this season.

A helping of history never helps, though, as ESPN Stats & Info weighed in with something else to consider: 

Oklahoma City doesn't have a LeBron stopper. It also doesn't have anyone who can reliably take the scoring pressure off Durant if the Cavaliers turn up the pressure.

Given the evidence, highlighted by how this is a year in the making and nothing short of downright impressive from the Cavaliers, the only way to go is James leading Cleveland to a title.

Prediction: Cavs in 6

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