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NBA Finals 2019: Updated Championship Odds, TV Schedule and Prediction
June 4, 2019
For the first time in their five-year run to the NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors opened a championship series with home-court advantage.
It took them just two games to steal it away from the Toronto Raptors.
Behind 48 combined points from splash siblings Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, plus an ice-water-in-his-veins dagger from Andre Iguodala, the Warriors rallied to take Game 2 on Sunday by a count of 109-104.
This now-five-game series is a long way from its completion, but oddsmakers again see Golden State as the heavy favorite coming off the victory.
We'll look at the updated odds (via VegasInsider.com) and remaining TV schedule below, before diving into the latest buzz.
Updated NBA Championship Odds
Golden State Warriors: -260 (5-13)
Toronto Raptors: +220 (11-5)
Remaining 2019 NBA Finals TV Schedule
Game 3: Wednesday, June 5, Raptors at Warriors, 9 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 4: Friday, June 7, Raptors at Warriors, 9 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 5: Monday, June 10, Warriors at Raptors, 9 p.m. ET on ABC
*Game 6: Thursday, June 13, Raptors at Warriors, 9 p.m. ET on ABC
*Game 7: Sunday, June 16, Warriors at Raptors, 8 p.m. ET on ABC
*if necessary
Series Prediction: Warriors in six
Latest Buzz
Warriors Injuries
While there's never a good time for medical maladies, the Warriors are picking a terrible time to morph into the walking wounded.
They came into this series with a hobbled DeMarcus Cousins and no Kevin Durant. While the former has returned admirably from a torn quad, the latter remains sidelined by a calf strain. As of Sunday, Durant had yet to be cleared to practice.
Game 2 exacerbated their injury issues.
Kevon Looney (chest contusion) and Thompson (hamstring tightness) both exited early. Igouodala hobbled around exactly how you'd expect a 35-year-old logging major minutes to.
"I'm nervous," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area's Monte Poole. "But we'll see."
Further testing revealed Looney has "a right upper body fracture of the first costal cartilage" and "will be out indefinitely," the Warriors announced Monday, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Meanwhile, a league source told the ESPN scribe "there is optimism" Thompson could return from his hamstring strain for Game 3 on Wednesday.
Throw Durant's absence into the equation, and this is more uncertainty than has ever faced the Association's model of consistency.
Kyle Lowry's Foul Trouble
Kyle Lowry's awkward relationship with playoff basketball continues.
The five-time All-Star has often failed to carry his regular-season success over into the playoffs. While he's had some ugly moments in this postseason—he went scoreless in Toronto's opener—this might be the most turbulence he's faced.
His shot has gone awry. He's just 6-of-20 from the field (30.0 percent) and 4-of-12 outside (33.3). His scoring has nearly dried up. The 20 points he's provided are the fewest he's put up in back-to-back games since late March.
Perhaps most frustrating, though, has been the floor general's inability to avoid foul trouble. He had five personal fouls across 36 minutes in Game 1, then fouled out in less than 28 minutes in Game 2.
"You've got to play physical basketball, but you've got to be able to adjust and all those kinds of things and try to stay out of it, and you've got to avoid the silly (fouls) too," Raptors coach Nick Nurse told reporters.
While the arrival of Kawhi Leonard and emergence of up-and-comers like Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet has lessened Lowry's scoring burden, he's still a critical piece of this club. He's the best playmaker on the roster and one of its better backcourt defenders.
So, while it's tempting to wonder if the Raptors might be better off without Lowry after watching him post a game-worst minus-17 his last time out, they need him to snap out of this funk—and avoid this foul plague—to have any hopes of an upset.