NBA Finals 2018: Updated Championship Odds, TV Schedule and Prediction
The Golden State Warriors own a 2-0 advantage on the Cleveland Cavaliers as the 2018 NBA Finals shift to northeast Ohio.
The defending champs' grasp on this series seems more like a stranglehold in the eyes of oddsmakers.
Perhaps it's foolish to ever count out LeBron James, particularly for a series in which he's averaging 40 points on 55.8 percent shooting, 10.5 assists and 8.5 rebounds. But when those numbers haven't been enough—due in no small part to the 79 nightly points supplied by Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson—maybe Golden State's coronation has become a formality.
We'll examine the latest championship odds, via OddsShark.com, and lay out the remaining schedule. We'll also make our series pick and break down the latest championship-round buzz.
2018 NBA Finals Remaining Schedule
Game 3: Wednesday, June 6—Warriors at Cavaliers, 9 p.m. ET
Game 4: Friday, June 8—Warriors at Cavaliers, 9 p.m. ET
*Game 5: Monday, June 11—Cavaliers at Warriors, 9 p.m. ET
*Game 6: Thursday, June 14—Warriors at Cavaliers, 9 p.m. ET
*Game 7: Sunday, June 17—Cavaliers at Warriors, 8 p.m. ET
*If necessary
**All games televised on ABC and available for streaming at WatchESPN.
Championship Odds
Golden State: -2,700
Cleveland: +1,440
Finals Buzz
Andre Iguodala Nearing Return
Andre Iguodala's game involves more substance than sizzle, which can lead to him getting lost in the shuffle on a club with four in-prime All-Stars and tons of aesthetically pleasing plays.
But the former Finals MVP is more than Golden State's fifth Beatle.
He's a calming influence at both ends of the floor with elite defense and uncanny control of the basketball (4.5 assists against 1.5 turnovers per 36 minutes over his five seasons with the Warriors). His defensive work takes precedence in this matchup, though, since he's typically the preferred option on LeBron.
At least, that assignment would've fallen to Iguodala had he been available. He's been out with a left knee injury since Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.
However, it sounds like his slow-healing ailment has progressed to the point he'll factor into this series at some point, per ESPN's Chris Haynes:
"Andre Iguodala hasn't experienced any pain over the past few days and plans to return for the NBA Finals, league sources tell ESPN.
"On Saturday, Iguodala progressed enough to go through a full personal workout and sprinted for the first time since sustaining a bone bruise in his left knee in Game 3 of the conference finals, sources said.
"The swingman's status for Game of the Finals on Wednesday is still unknown, according to sources."
If Iguodala's comeback is as close as it sounds, this lopsided series could tilt even further in the Dubs' direction.
Whether deployed as a starter or sixth man, he'd bring welcome depth to a perimeter group that has looked thin behind the stars at times. During two of their last three Finals appearances, Iguodala has paced the team in plus/minus (plus-60 last year, plus-62 in 2016).
Time To Try Rodney Hood?
After trudging through a relatively uninspiring 34-22 first half, Cleveland overhauled its roster at the trade deadline. The Cavs shipped out six players and brought four new ones back. Save perhaps for battle-tested veteran George Hill, Rodney Hood looked as promising as any of the newcomers.
The 6'8" swingman had averaged 16.8 points and 2.6 triples over 39 appearances with the Utah Jazz. His good nights made him look like a competent three-level scorer with the ability to orchestrate pick-and-rolls—a surely attractive combination to an offense that failed to replace Kyrie Irving and had trouble squeezing much more out of Kevin Love despite a de facto move to the second option.
But Hood stumbled down the stretch run in Cleveland with his per-36-minute scoring average falling from 21.8 to 15.4 points. And he kept falling come playoff time, averaging only 4.4 points on 41.8 percent shooting while losing his rotation spot during the conference finals.
With the Cavs needing a non-LeBron spark, though, maybe it's time to give Hood another shot.
"Why not try Rodney Hood?" asked Cleveland.com's Terry Pluto. "He averaged 15.3 points and shot 45 percent in six career games against the Warriors."
Hood getting himself on track now is far from guaranteed. Beyond his shooting woes, he refused to handle mop-up duty in the second round and has admitted his tenure with the Cavs "has been tough," per The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears.
That said, this might have less to do with Hood himself and more to do with the uneven play of Cleveland's other wings.
J.R. Smith had an historic mental malfunction late in Game 1 and has only made five of his 19 shots. Kyle Korver has four points and one field goal. Jordan Clarkson is 3-of-13 with six points in 25 minutes. Jeff Green has 13 points on 16 shots.
Maybe Cleveland's home crowd helps turn things around—the Cavs are 8-1 at Quicken Loans Arena this postseason—but that's more of a hope than a promise.
Granted, gambling on Hood might qualify as the same. But with Cleveland backed against the ropes by an all-time heavyweight, isn't this the time to bring all hands on deck? While it probably wouldn't change the outcome of this series, the Cavs should try everything they can to overcome such enormous odds.
Finals Prediction: Warriors in 5
Statistics used courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com.
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