The NBA Finals will kick off on Thursday, as all eyes will be north of the border to see if the Golden State Warriors can take the first step in securing a third straight NBA championship. Their opponent is the Toronto Raptors, who may be the underdogs in this series but are slight favorites to capture Game 1 at home.
Even though this is the start of the series, this already seems like a pivotal game for Toronto, which can ill afford to drop the contest considering it has the home court and the Warriors will be short-handed. The oddsmakers believe this one could go either way as the spread is a small one in NBA gambling.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors will be held at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 30th, 2019. The game will be nationally televised on ABC.
We'll have NBA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2019 NBA season.
Odds Analysis
The Raptors have been listed as the 1-point favorites to claim the first game of the NBA Finals. They are listed at -115 on the moneyline while Golden State comes in at -105. The scoring total is listed at 214.5 points.
The Warriors are the -280 favorites to win the title, while the Raptors come in as the +230 underdogs in NBA betting lines.
Injury Report
The Warriors will not have superstar forward Kevin Durant for Game 1 of this series and possibly longer as he still is recovering from a calf injury suffered in the second round against the Houston Rockets. Durant is likely to be back at some point in this series but the injury is obviously pretty significant. He is one of the best players in the NBA and the Warriors will once again try to win without him. They have been very successful doing that so far, with a 5-0 record since Durant was sidelined, including a sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals.
Golden State could have star center DeMarcus Cousins back in this one as he has been listed as questionable. Cousins has been rehabbing from a quadriceps injury he suffered early in the postseason but is close to a return. Keep an eye on his availability as Cousins’ presence would be a nice boost for the Warriors.
Key Stat
2. That’s the number of times these teams faced off in the regular season, and the Raptors came away with the wins each time. Kawhi Leonard led the way in the first game as Toronto held on in overtime. He missed the second matchup but the Raptors went on the road and cruised to the win behind a strong defense and an impressive performance by point guard Kyle Lowry.
The Raptors are the underdogs in this series but they should be feeling confident after matching up well in the regular season. With that being said, that was a long time ago and Golden State is more than capable of putting those losses behind it and coming away with a big win.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The basketball world believes Golden State is going to win this series, and that could certainly be so. However, the Raptors are at home in Game 1 and the Warriors are missing at least Durant and maybe Cousins as well.
Toronto will be able to add some drama to this series by squeaking out a win and also covering the spread in NBA betting.
NBA ATS Pick: Toronto Raptors 110, Golden State Warriors 108
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