Sports Betting Futures Odds: Warriors Set Up NBA Finals Rematch

by Ricky Dimon - 6/1/2016

They took a circuitous, often-harrowing, route to get there, but the defending champion Golden State Warriors are back in the NBA Finals. Standing in their way is last year's runner-up, the Cleveland Cavaliers-who enjoyed a much more routine trip through the Eastern Conference. Can LeBron James and company get revenge and deliver a long-awaited title to Cleveland? The story will begin to unfold on Thursday night.

Odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook unless otherwise indicated .

NBA Finals

Warriors to win title (-240) - Golden State could do no wrong in the regular season. Its 73-9 mark set the all-time record and was six games better than anyone else in the league. The Warriors secured home-court advantage for this series by a whopping 16 games over Cleveland. The Cavs are +200 to win it.

Game 1: Warriors -5.5 (-110) - Golden State's comeback from 3-1 down against the Oklahoma City Thunder was completed on Monday night. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, rolled over the Toronto Raptors with blowouts in Game 5 and Game 6 and have not played since last Friday. Will momentum or rest prove to be better?

Game 1: Over/Under 210 (-110) - In four victories against Toronto, Cleveland scored at least 108 points on each occasion. The Raptors could not contain their opponent in the last two laughers, giving up 116 points in Game 5 and 113 in the clincher. Golden State was wildly up and down on the offensive end against Oklahoma City.

Series to go seven games (+200) - The Warriors won last year's finals in six after being pushed to overtime in each of their first two at home and eventually falling behind two games to one. But the Cavs are much healthier this time around. The series finishing in Game 6 is a +210 second choice, while a sweep for either team is a +600 long shot.

NBA Finals MVP

Stephen Curry (-130) -The reigning two-time MVP (unanimous this season) played in just two games of five during a first-round defeat of the Houston Rockets and he missed the first three games against the Portland Trail Blazers. Curry shot worse than 50 percent in five of the first six outings against OKC but came up clutch in Game 7 with 36 points on 13-of-24 shooting.

LeBron James (+225) - At +225, LeBron winning MVP is probably a better bet than Cleveland at +200 to win the series. After all, if Cleveland wins, LeBron is almost certain to be MVP. Even if he is not the Cavs' best player (which he likely will be), he would get it by default. LeBron averaged 26.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, and 6.7 apg against the Raptors.

Klay Thompson (+475) -Thompson has simply been awesome during these playoffs. He made 14 three-pointers in the last two games against Houston, averaged 31.0 ppg at Portland's expense, and he saved Golden State's season by going for 41 points on 11-for-18 shooting from three-point range in the Game 6 win at the Thunder.

Draymond Green (+850) - If the Warriors win, it's hard to imagine two consecutive NBA Finals coming and going without either Splash Brother winning MVP (Andre Iguodala won in 2015). That being said, Green getting the job done would not be too much of a surprise. The do-it-all forward was one rebound short of finishing the OKC series with three straight double-doubles.

National League Cy Young Award (Bovada Sportsbook)

Clayton Kershaw (Even) - Kershaw is 7-1 with a 1.56 ERA. An amazing 10 of his 11 outings have been quality, with the only blemish coming in his lone loss to Miami on April 26. L.A.'s star southpaw is in the midst of an awesome stretch in which he has recorded double-digit strikeouts in seven of eight starts.

Jake Arrieta (+300) -The Cubs had won 23 straight games started by Arrieta. That streak came to an end on Tuesday night, but it was no fault of their ace. He did not give up a single run to the Dodgers in seven innings of work. Arrieta is 9-0 with a 1.56 ERA for the best team in baseball.

Stephen Strasburg (+500) -It could be a two-man race between Kershaw and Arrieta for the National League's highest honor in pitching. But Strasburg may have something to say about that idea. He is 9-0 with a 2.69 ERA and Washington has won all 11 of his starts this season.

Noah Syndergaard (+800) - Syndergaard pitched in relief on Tuesday. Why? He was ejected last Saturday for delivering a 99 MPH fastball at L.A.'s Chase Utley after having thrown only 34 pitches. Syndergaard's record is a modest 5-2, but he sports a 1.84 ERA for the defending NL champs.

The Memorial

Jason Day (+600) - Day finished T37 at the Memorial in 2014 and missed the cut last year. But this, of course, is a new Jason Day. Up to No. 1 in the world, the Australian captured his first major title at the 2015 PGA Championship and so far this season he owns six Top-10s and three wins in 10 starts. He is coming off a victory at The Players Championship.

Jordan Spieth (+650) - He's back! Well, that won't really be confirmed until Spieth wins another major-and maybe not even until he wins the Masters again. Such was the extent of the 22-year-old's monumental meltdown at Augusta National two months ago. But an epic back nine last Sunday propelled Spieth to victory at the Dean & Deluca Invitational.

Rory McIlroy (+650) - Making a rare appearance at the Memorial, McIlroy has the momentum of a win at the Irish Open two weeks ago. In two PGA Tour appearances last month, the Northern Irishman placed T4 at the Wells Fargo Championship and T4 at The Players. Is he due for his first PGA victory of the year?

Hideki Matsuyama (+1400) - Spieth has been solid at the Memorial (T19 in 2014, T3 last season), but he does not have what Matsuyama has: a win. The Japanese star lifted the trophy two years ago and finished T5 in 2015. It's safe to say he knows his way around this course. Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, and Matt Kuchar are tied as fifth choices at +1600.

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