Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors
The Warriors and Cavaliers will meet again in the NBA Finals; and despite talks about how “boring” it is to see the two juggernauts battle for the title for the fourth straight year, no one can deny how dominant they have been in the regular season and in the playoffs.
Now, as we head to Game 1 of The Finals, the more serious question that needs to be asked is: who will win?
The basketball purists—and our NBA Finals betting odds—will tell you that it’s impossible to beat a Golden State team that boasts what could be described as the best collection of individual talent that the league has ever seen. However, LeBron James, unarguably the best basketball player on the planet right now, is more than determined to prove that he can lead his Cavaliers to the promised land once again.
Talking Points
No matter how you look at it, the biggest and most intriguing storyline in the fourth chapter of the Golden State-Cleveland rivalry is “Four versus One.”
The Dubs’ death lineup is for real and you can ask the Houston Rockets, the West and the NBA’s top team, about that. Put simply, the Warriors is unlike any other squad in the history of the league.
They have two former MVPs in Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Draymond Green, and a four-time NBA All-Star and three-point contest champ in Klay Thompson. Add there the injured Andre Iguodala—perhaps one of the best utility men in the league—and we could say that it’s “Five vs One.”
Nonetheless, much like the Warriors, LeBron James is unlike any other player that the league has ever seen (sorry Michael Jordan).
The King is a one-man wrecking crew, a tireless cyborg, a freak of nature. He has carried the Cavs to this stage all by himself; and if there’s one thing we learned in the 2017/18 playoffs, it’s to never bet against LeBron. NEVER.
He helped the Wine and Gold survive the Indiana Pacers in the first round, led them in the sweep of the Toronto Raptors in the semi-finals, and used his out-of-this-world talent and athleticism to beat the genius of Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
LeBron is LeBron and despite all the hate he receives, he always gives that sense of assurance that his team can win every game with him on the floor.
Moreover, if his teammates play like their lives depend on it—much like in Game 7 against Boston—there’s no doubt they can give the Warriors problems.
Shared talent and experience goes a long way, and both teams have that.
History
As mentioned, this will be the fourth time that they will meet. The Golden State Warriors won the title in 2015 and 2017 against the Cavaliers, the first one ending in six games and the second in just five.
However, it should be noted that the Cavs beat the best version of the Warriors in 2016. Golden State (72-9)broke the Chicago Bulls’ record for most wins in a season during that campaign, but LeBron and his crew spoiled their historic run by stealing the O’Brien Trophy.
Oh, and they made history while doing that, becoming the first team to win the NBA title after going down 3-1 in the finals.
This season, the Warriors totally dominated the Cavs. They met only two times and the Bay Area team won both matches with Durant leading the way.
For what it’s worth though, LeBron averaged 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists in those two games—he’s averaging a near triple-double of 34.0 points, 9.2 boards and 8.8 dimes this postseason.
What are the odds?
NBA betting tips have the Warriors winning Game 1…by a huge margin! But that is expected as many fans believe that the Dubs already passed their biggest test when they defeated Mike D’Antoni’s Rockets.
SBOBET Asian Handicap sports betting, in fact, have Golden State at -12.00 that pays at odds of 1.93. Meanwhile, the Cavs are given a +12.00 start at 1.97.
While that sure looks blasphemous for Cavs fans, it’s worth noting that the Warriors won by an average of 23 points in their four wins against the Rockets.
Cleveland, on the other hand, registered a margin of 14.25 points in their wins against the Celtics, though that’s thanks in large part to their 30-point demolition of the Beantown team in Game 3 of the East Finals.
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