Following a couple of lopsided conference finals, the Warriors and Cavaliers match up for the NBA Finals many expected.
The Warriors are 6-point favorites in Thursday’s Game 1 (9 p.m. ET, ABC), with a total of 203 at most Las Vegas sports books. Check The Linemakers on Sporting News’ odds page for current spreads and totals .
Cleveland and Golden State met twice in the regular season, but only once with LeBron James in the lineup. Cleveland cruised to a 110-99 win as 3-point home favorites. The final score also resulted in the game staying UNDER the total of 216.5.
The average Game 1 score after AccuScore ran its 10,000-plus simulations is Warriors 103 – Cavs 94.
According to AccuScore projections, Golden State has a 77.4 percent chance to Game 1 outright and about six times the chance at a big win (10 points or more) than does Cleveland. The close win percentages are much more comparable. The Warriors have about an 11 percent chance at a close win (4 points or less), compared to the Cavaliers' probability at 7.5 percent.
AccuScore best bet: There's over a 60 percent chance the Warriors cover a -6 spread.
OVER/UNDER trends: The Warriors’ last seven home games have all stayed UNDER
Check out AccuScore.com for today's hot trend pick on the total .
Projected Leaders
LeBron James: 27 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 5 TOs
Stephen Curry: 26 points (4-9 3PM), 11 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 4 TOs
More on the game: The Linemakers’ picks | Props