The Golden State Warriors are back in the NBA Finals and are sizable favorites to claim yet another championship. The Toronto Raptors upset the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals and are aiming to pull off another shocker.
Toronto finished with the better record in the regular season and thus will have the home court advantage. However, it is still going to be an uphill battle against such a talented Golden State team. The Warriors will be short-handed at the beginning of the series and the Raptors need to take early advantage in NBA betting lines.
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 Warriors are currently being wagered on at -290 to win a third consecutive NBA championship. Toronto is listed at +237 to pull off the upset. The Bucks would have had better odds but they were not able to hold a 2-0 lead on the Raptors and are now home for the summer.
The Raptors are listed as slim 1-point favorites to win Game 1. Toronto is the -115 favorite while Golden State is -105 to win this road game. The scoring total is listed at 214.5 points in NBA gambling.
Injury Report
Warriors superstar Kevin Durant has been ruled out of the first game of the NBA Finals as he continues to deal with a calf strain. It is obviously going to be a boost to Golden State to get him back but the team has played great without him. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have shouldered more of the scoring load and Golden State is 5-0 without Durant in the playoffs.
Golden State center DeMarcus Cousins is questionable for Game 1. He has made good progress since hurting his quad early in the playoffs and now will be another weapon once a return to the court happens. Keep an eye on the status of Cousins and Durant for the playoffs.
Season Series
The Raptors and Warriors faced off twice during the regular season and Toronto won both of the contests. Kawhi Leonard had 37 points in the first matchup, a game the Raptors won, 131-128, in overtime. Toronto cruised in the second game at Golden State even without Leonard as Kyle Lowry had 23 points in a 113-93 victory.
Durant led the way for Golden State in both of those games, including putting up 51 points and 11 rebounds in the first matchup. Curry and Thompson will continue to do the heavy lifting until he returns to the court.
Free NBA ATS Picks
A lot of people are already counting out the Raptors in this series, but don’t be surprised if they strike first in this series seeing as how they are at home and Durant will not play. However, the Warriors are the superior team and will get stronger as the NBA Finals go along as Cousins and Durant are expected to re-enter the fold.
The Warriors will win another NBA title when the series wraps up in NBA gambling.
NBA ATS Pick: Golden State Warriors to defeat Toronto Raptors in six games to win NBA Finals
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