The Golden State Warriors enter the postseason dealing with injuries and without the top seed in the Western Conference, but they are still the favorites to defend their championship. The start of their journey is a tough one as the No. 2 seed Warriors have to face off against the No. 7 seed San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs are generally one of the main contenders each year, but they have dealt with significant injuries this season, most notably to star small forward Kawhi Leonard. His status for this series is pessimistic but a return would obviously be a huge boost to the team’s chances.
The Warriors don’t have Stephen Curry due to injury so they are more vulnerable than usual. A matchup against the Spurs in the first round is a tough draw, but Golden State still features the trio of Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, which will make it the clear favorite to win this series and advance to the Western Conference semifinals in NBA basketball odds.
Game 1 of this NBA Playoff Series is on Saturday, April 14, 2018 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
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Odds Analysis
The Warriors are the favorites to win the NBA title once again, as oddsmakers have pegged them at impressive +129 odds to claim the championship. The Spurs are much longer shots at +3971. San Antonio would likely have to go through both the Warriors and Houston Rockets to simply make the NBA Finals, which would be very difficult.
Golden State is listed as a -1050 favorite to beat San Antonio in this series and advance to the Western Conference semifinals. The Spurs are getting the overwhelming action as heavy underdogs as bettors like the odds of the upset.
In Game 1, the Warriors are 8.5-point favorites to defeat the Spurs. They are -385 favorites on the moneyline while San Antonio is the +306 underdog. The scoring total is listed at 209.5 points.
Injury Report
Curry, the Warriors superstar, is still sidelined with a knee injury and is expected to miss this first series against the Spurs. The five-time All-Star went down with a Grade 2 MCL sprain on March 24th. He is averaging 26.4 points and 6.1 assists on the season, and his expected return in the early portion of the playoffs is why the Warriors are the favorites to win the championship.
If he suffers a setback, that would be a huge storyline.
Leonard has missed all but eight games this season and seems unlikely to play in this series. A mysterious quadriceps injury and some friction with the organization has kept him sidelined. It would be stunning if Leonard does play in this series, but keep a close eye on his actions early on because Leonard is a special talent who would make the Spurs much more competitive.
Previous Meetings
Golden State defeated San Antonio three out of the four times the teams met this season. The Spurs took the fourth and final matchup 89-75, but the Warriors were missing most of their starting lineup for that one.
LaMarcus Aldridge was impressive in the win nonetheless, finishing with 33 points and 12 rebounds. He also had double-doubles in two other previous games against Golden State this year. It’s hard to take too much from the regular season games because injuries have played a big role in both teams’ seasons.
Free NBA ATS Picks
This is a scary matchup for the Warriors in the first round. Golden State is obviously a very talented team, but if Curry is out and Leonard somehow returns, things could get interesting. The worst-case scenario is that the Warriors get pushed to the brink, but there is little chance they lose this series unless Durant gets hurt.
Expect San Antonio to make it tough, but Golden State is the pick to come away with the series victory in five games in NBA basketball wagering.
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