Golden State to ride to Game 1 victory on MVP’s back
Published:
An NBA Finals pitting two underdogs against each other may well be the neutral’s nightmare, but the amount of storylines for the Golden State Warriors’ clash with the Cleveland Cavaliers means there’s no need to take sides.
Whichever franchise wins will be making history. The Warriors haven’t won the NBA title since 1975, this being their first chance to break that long wait, while the Cavaliers have never won it.
Beyond the pair’s tussle for a rare piece of success, the two team’s best players provide another compelling rhetoric.
The Cavs’ LeBron James has been the best player in the world for some time, but this season lost out in the race to be crowned regular-season MVP to the Warriors’ Stephen Curry.
Although James ended up finishing third in the vote, his play in the postseason since then serves as a timely reminder to the rest of the world as to his skills.
Unsurprisingly the pair are taking most of the attention in the run up to Game 1 of the series at Golden State’s Oracle Arena. From a betting perspective it makes sense to focus on them too.
Ladbrokes make it a 7/2 chance that both James and Curry score 30 points in the contest. Considering that the former has managed the feat seven times in 14 games and the latter an even more impressive eight in the same stretch makes that a healthy looking bet.
Alternatively you can side with either scoring 30 points or more in a win for their team. Neither man has scored that many in a playoff game and lost this season, so either the 4/1 on James managing it, or the 2/1 on Curry appeals.
However, the Warriors, who come in to these Finals as the NBA’s best-ranked side, have lost just three times at home in both the regular and post season and should be taken to register an opening victory with the help of their star.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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