Since Kevin Durant’s move from Oklahoma City Thunder to Golden State, they’ve looked phenomenal, while LeBron James’ Cavaliers look even better than last year’s Championship winning side.
It always looked like it was going to end up as this tie for the third straight year, but it could be one of the most exciting in recent years.
2017 NBA Finals Betting Tips
The third installment of this tie sees the two sides go into it deadlocked on a Championship a piece, with it all to play for.
The Kevin Durant factor makes the Warriors even more dangerous and alongside the likes of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson they go into the game as favourites for the NBA Finals at 4/11 with Paddy Power.
It’s been a dominant postseason for the Californian team having gone unbeaten and should they beat the Cavs in the first game of the Finals, they will post the longest winning streak in an NBA postseason history.
Game 1 is at home and you would fancy them do take that record, despite a solid Cleveland defence.
Despite that, Cleveland are far from favourites in the first to four, priced at 11/5 across most bookmaker sites. We’d fancy them to take a few games however, and a 4-2 series victory for Golden State is a handy price at 5/1 with Ladbrokes. A whitewash for GSW can be had at 7/1 however, if you’re expecting them to keep hold of that streak.
MVP
Any unbeaten records will rely on Kevin Durant who is favourite to pick up his first Finals MVP award at 15/8.
Durant has posted some impressive stats this season and will want to further his legacy on June 1. The Durantula has never won a Championship Ring however, and the pressure of leading his side to earning one, could add a little extra weight to his shoulders.
This season he’s averaged 25.1 points across the season, as well as 4.8 assists, and 8.3 rebounds and has been an incredible fit into the side, also helping Stephen Curry average a massive 25.3 points per game in the regular season.
Curry is priced at 2/1 with Coral to pick up the MVP award while teammates Draymond Green and Klay Thompson are at 10/1 and 28/1 respectively.
One man who is no stranger to the award is LeBron James who is at 9/4 to collect his fourth. That will naturally depend on whether he can beat the odds and lead the Cavs to their second title in as many years.
Series Points Leader
Whether they win or not, it’s likely James will pick up the most points across the series. He’s averaging 32.5 in the postseason and relishes pressure situations. William Hill have given him odds of 8/13 to collect the most points, while Kyrie Irving, a man who is having a very good season with the Cavs is at 10/1.
Recommended bets
Stephen Curry heads up the favourites to top score for the Warriors at 15/4 at Paddy Power which could be great value should the team do what many expect and walk over Cleveland. Durant is at 4/1, while you can also get the man to bag the most rebounds at 5/1.
