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The 2015 NBA Finals are almost here and they promise not to be boring. We really didn’t have many intense series in these playoffs, as the first round clash between the Clippers and Spurs was probably the best one by far and the crazy comeback by the Houston Rockets in round two is the only other series that truly stands out. That being said, the two best teams in the league appear to have made it to the final series of the year.
The coolest thing about this year’s NBA Finals is who is in it, as the Cleveland Cavaliers go for their first title ever and the Golden State Warriors try to win for the first time in 40 years. With the NBA generally dominated by just a handful of teams, it’s a nice change of pace.
Neither the Cavs or Warriors will simply be glad to be here, though. Stephen Curry and co. badly want to live up to their #1 overall seeding and get the Warriors another title and LeBron James would love to lead an under-manned Cavs team to the promised land. It’s going to be an explosive series, so let’s break it down with overall odds and our pick for who will win it all:
Odds to Win
There are some weid NBA Finals odds to think about, as Golden State enters with crazy 19-38 odds after losing just three games throughout the post-season. They’ve also lost just three games at home at Oracle Arena all year and have the league’s MVP, so it’s no shocker they’re the favorites. Cleveland is at 21-10 odds, which makes sense considering we’re down to just two squads.
MVP?
Usually the winner of the Finals gets MVP and it’s probably safe to say it’s between Stephen Curry or LeBron James. If you had to pick one that is the MVP right now of these playoffs, it’d have to be a toss-up, right? Well, Curry enters the NBA Finals with 10-19 odds to win MVP (makes sense, since the Warriors are favored to win it all) and James is right behind him with 7-5 MVP odds. Want a dark horse? Try Kyrie Irving (12-1) or Klay Thompson (11-1).
Final Answer
Full disclosure: I want the Warriors to win. And you should know that the teams I want to win, usually don’t. I also just don’t think LeBron James can be denied. The Cavs probably should have lost to the Chicago Bulls. J.R. Smith was suspended the first two games of that series, Kevin Love was gone and Chicago was the better team, overall. Cleveland won it fairly easily. Kyrie Irving was severely banged up going into the Eastern Conference Finals and missed two games, and despite not having home court advantage and facing what seemed to be a more well-rounded and balanced Hawks team, the Cavs pulled off the sweep.
One could say that King James has done it all himself, or that he’s made everyone 10x better than they usually would be. You could also say the Cavs have had a fairly easy route by traditional standards (sweep over weak Celtics team, the Bulls were a ticking time bomb and the Hawks are the softest #1 seed of all-time, it seems). That, or Cleveland got past a sneaky Boston team, out-fought the Bulls and made the Hawks change their own style of ball so fast it got them swept.
Golden State is a great team. They play sound defense, have a superstar point guard and can score in bunches. But they’re still young and Cleveland appears to have all of the momentum. The odds don’t say it, but I have a feeling the Cavaliers win the title.
Pick: Cavaliers in 6
