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NBA Finals odds – Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Game Two

The Golden State Warriors are the bookmakers’ favourites to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight in Game Two of the NBA Finals.

Led by regular season MVP Stephen Curry, the Oakland-based franchise are the odds-on favourites at time of writing – 5/18 to draw to make it two wins in a row in the best-of-seven series in bet365’s NBA Finals Odds market.

The Cavaliers are 14/5 underdogs to level the series at 1-1.

Just like in Game 1, Golden State is expected to use a well-balanced offense led by Curry and Klay Thompson. Curry finished with 26 points and eight assists while Thompson added 21.

The Splash Brothers got plenty of support from their teammates. Andre Iguodala had 15 points off the bench while Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes chipped in 12 and 11, respectively.

The absence of Kyrie Irving for the remainder of the series increased Golden State’s winning chances. The All-Star guard registered 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals in Game 1 before leaving the game in overtime after hurting his troubled knee. Medical tests later revealed a fractured kneecap that will sideline him for three to four months.

Irving is averaging 19 points in the playoffs so his absence is a big blow to Cleveland’s title bid. The Cavaliers earlier lost big men Kevin Love
and Anderson Varejao for the remainder of the season.

Head coach David Blatt is expected to start either Matthew Dellavedova or JR Smith in Irving’s absence. Dellavedova played limited minutes in Game 1 and did not score while Smith scored just nine points after shooting 3-of-13 from the field.

Cleveland’s other players need to step up if they are to pull off a rare win at the Oracle Arena as LeBron James couldn’t do everything by himself. The four-time MVP – as expected – proved to be unstoppable in Game 1 as he finished with 44 points, eight rebounds and six assists but only two other Cavaliers finished in double figures.

Smith and his former New York teammate Iman Shumpert are both capable of lighting up the scoreboard along with Russian center Timofey Mozgov, who had 16 points and seven rebounds in Game 1.  Tristan Thompson was a monster underneath with 15 rebounds although his offense was badly missed as he scored just two points.

It would be difficult for the Cavaliers to pull off a win in Golden State if James hardly gets any help from his teammates. So unless the other Cavaliers step up then the Warriors are likely to take a 2-0 advantage when the series shifts to Cleveland in Game 3.

 

Harry James' love for sports began in his high school basketball days. Sadly, an injury meant he couldn't further his NBA dreams, but the hooper's loss is our gain as he then found journalism.

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