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The Oklahoma City Thunder shocked the world and upset the Spurs in the conference semifinals, winning four out of five against a team which won 67 games.
But can the Thunder beat the team which had the best regular season in NBA history? The Golden State Warriors are certainly going to try to make short work of the Thunder in Game 1.
NBA Playoff Odds at BookMaker.eu
Oklahoma City Thunder +7.5 Golden State Warriors -7.5 Over/Under 224
ODDS ANALYSIS
The oddsmakers don't seem to have learned their lesson all that well. They made OKC +6.5 in Game 1 against the Spurs and +7.5 in Game 2. That's right around the same price we see here with Golden State favored by 7.5 in Game 1.
The more interesting stat to follow in live betting is going to be the total. A number of 224 is insanely high in a postseason which has been full of under games. Still, after the Dubs played their last three playoff games against the Blazers to 228, 257 and 246 points, it's tough to not at least want to consider the over.
KEY MATCHUP
If the Thunder are winning this series, they'd better figure out how to use their big lineup the same way they did against the Spurs. Steven Adams had the series of his life against Tim Duncan and company, and he's going to have to be big again versus the Warriors.
If Golden State elects to stay big by putting Draymond Green at the four and Andrew Bogut at the five, Adams will be able to park himself in front of the basket and be a force in the paint. If Green is playing at center, Adams might be forced away from the basket, but that's when Kevin Durant can really play a huge role on the boards against someone perhaps as small as Andre Iguodala.
If Billy Donovan can't figure out how to use these bigs to his advantage, the Thunder could end up getting ripped apart on the perimeter by the best three-point shooting team in the league. Live bettors know that no team goes on a run quite like Golden State, so watch out for that.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
Stephen Curry is healthy, and that's bad news for the rest of the NBA. With Curry in the fold, the Dubs have averaged just short of 116 points per game this season, and we all saw what he was able to do against the Trail Blazers when he was pushed into extensive action.
He's got 10 threes in his last five quarters of game time plus overtime, and he'll be the man to watch out for in live betting in this one.
If the Thunder are going to get beaten down in this game, it's going to be on the defensive end of the court. In that blowout in Game 1, OKC shot 41.2 percent, only turned the ball over 10 times and had 11 offensive rebounds. Those numbers are generally good enough to at least hang in games in the playoffs, and that perhaps should've been a precursor to the upsets to come against the Spurs.
The Thunder will have to shoot better than that, but not necessarily substantially better than that if they're to have success in live betting.
NBA Odds at BookMaker.eu
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The duel between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors will take place at Oracle Arena on Monday, May 16, 2016. This 9:00 p.m. ET kickoff can be seen live on TNT.
