NBA Finals 2016: Warriors vs. Cavaliers Game 3 Odds, Props and Predictions
One doesn't need a crystal ball to figure out how Las Vegas feels about the 2016 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.
Really, there wasn't much in the way of foresight required going into the series. Now Wednesday's Game 3 looms, and it's almost become boring after the Warriors jumped out to a 2-0 lead via 104-89 and 110-77 decisions.
Boring doesn't mean non-lucrative, though. Through smart analysis and moves, bettors can still come out ahead of the house by the time a team hoists the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
Let's take a look at the updated odds around the series ahead of Game 3.
2016 NBA Finals Game 3
When: Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland
TV: ABC
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Odds Breakdown
Hopefully, a few folks out there wasted valuable coin betting the Cavaliers would take the Finals in four or five games. Considering those odds came in at wild payouts (four at 25-1 and five at 14-1), the allure of a major win was there.
Except it really wasn't.
Cleveland rolled through the Eastern Conference in just 14 games, as Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love gave LeBron James the supporting cast he didn't have one year ago because of injuries.
But as the Finals have shown, such dominance doesn't mean much in the face of the best team from the Western Conference. It's why the rest of the series-long odds look like so, according to Stephen Campbell of Odds Shark:
| Cleveland in Six | 16-1 |
| Cleveland in Seven | 8-1 |
| Golden State in Four | 11-4 |
| Golden State in Five | 7-4 |
| Golden State in Six | 9-2 |
| Golden State in Seven | 6-1 |
| Four | 13-2 |
| Five | 23-10 |
| Six | 21-10 |
| Seven | 2-1 |
Betting the series ends in four games doesn't seem so silly when viewed through a royal blue and California golden yellow lens.
Golden State hasn't received a big game from Curry and still has a pair of blowouts. The Warriors got 45 points from their bench in Game 1 and 28 from Draymond Green in Game 2. Anyone and everyone has taken advantage of Cleveland's failure to play off-ball screens well. The Warriors have no trouble running up and down the court, as the slower Cavaliers can't keep pace.
Look at it this way, per BasketballInsiders.com's Alex Kennedy:
So no, the series still ending in four games doesn't seem out of the question. Heck, the five-game payouts still help bettors win and provide quality insurance if the Cavaliers somehow come to life at home and steal a game.
It's the individual odds that should have bettors motivated to keep on with the series. Given Curry's so-so performance thus far, interesting opportunities open up across the board—which only makes sense for a rematch of a series that crowned Andre Iguodala Finals MVP last year.
Iguodala doesn't seem like the MVP winner this year so far. LeBron is always an interesting candidate regardless of which team wins, but through two games he's turned the ball over a whopping 11 times.
Still, if one wants to bet the Cavaliers, the choice is him, especially after comments like this:
Here's a look at the full MVP odds:
| Stephen Curry | -125 |
| LeBron James | +200 |
| Klay Thompson | +500 |
| Draymond Green | +850 |
| Kyrie Irving | +900 |
| Kevin Love | +2000 |
| Andre Iguodala | +3000 |
More likely, the award goes to someone such as Thompson or Green. The former only has 26 points through two games, but he erupted for 41 points on 14-of-31 shooting from deep in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Green has been more consistent, though, and it doesn't seem the Cavaliers have anyone who matches up with him. Over the two games, he's averaged 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Thompson isn't a terrible idea as top point-scorer (50-1) either, but bettors will also want to consider James (2-5), Thompson (4-1) and even Irving (8-1), who has 36 total points.
Prediction
Strong words from LeBron or not, it's hard for bettors to find a way to get behind the Cavaliers Wednesday.
Odds Shark has the game even right now, but Cleveland's lack of improvement over two games has been telling. The Cavaliers don't seem to have a lineup that can run with Golden State's small-ball approach, and a lack of quality defense has the Warriors shooting whenever they feel like it.
And while Cleveland entered the series healthy—which is a bigger negative than ever with how the first two games went—the team isn't anymore. Love is listed as questionable for Game 3 with a concussion, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
Cleveland is hobbled, and Irving and Co. are too weak on the defensive end to stop Golden State's eight-deep attack. Look for the Warriors to help bettors get one step closer to cashing in on those four-game props.
Prediction: Warriors 116, Cavaliers 96
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.
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