2015 NBA Finals Betting Odds – Game 3 – Warriors vs. Cavaliers
Carrie Stroup here with your NBA Finals betting odds for Game 3 between the Warriors and Cavaliers.
NBA Finals – Game 3
Sportsbook.ag Line: Golden State -1.0, Total: 194.5
The Warriors and Cavaliers will each look to break a 1-1 deadlock when they meet in Cleveland in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday.
The Cavaliers and Warriors have opened up the NBA Finals with two overtime thrillers. In Game 2, Cleveland emerged with a hard-fought 95-93 victory in a game that saw neither side shoot 40 percent from the field. SF LeBron James followed up Game 1 with another remarkable game, notching his fifth career triple-double in the NBA Finals with 39 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists.
PG Stephen Curry had a poor shooting performance for the Warriors, and will look to improve on his 2-for-15 shooting from three-point range. His backcourt mate SG Klay Thompson was largely responsible for keeping Golden State in the game, as he submitted a 34-point game on 14-for-28 shooting from the field.
The Cavs won the rebounding battle 55-45, and had a 14-10 edge on the offensive boards with PF Tristan Thompson leading the way with seven. The first two games of the series have been decided by single digits. Game 1 went Over the total, but only did so after overtime, and Game 2 went Under despite going into overtime.
In the regular season and playoffs this season, the Cavaliers are 2-2 SU and 2-2 ATS when facing the Warriors. Cleveland won the only matchup on its home floor in these four meetings. The Warriors are 22-10 ATS after losing as a favorite over the past two seasons. Working in the Cavaliers favor, however, is the fact that Golden State is just 3-11 ATS in road games this season after winning two of their last three games.
PG Kyrie Irving (Knee), PF Kevin Love (Shoulder) and C Anderson Varejao (Achilles) are out for the season for the Cavaliers, while the Warriors are missing no key players.
The Warriors lost just their fourth home game of the season in Game 2, and that came in large part as a result of PG Stephen Curry’s (28.4 PPG, 6.4 APG, 4.9 RPG, 1.8 SPG in playoffs) struggles. He shot just 5-for-23 from the floor in what was his poorest shooting display of the playoffs, and also turned the ball over six times, tied for his most this postseason. Golden State will need him to bounce back in Game 3 and hope that he returns to the form he was in during the Western Conference Finals, in which he averaged 31.2 PPG on 51.5 percent shooting to go along with 5.4 3FGM per game.
SG Klay Thompson (20.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.1 SPG in playoffs) poured in a playoff career-high 34 points in Game 2, but SF Draymond Green (13.6 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.3 BPG in playoffs) was a non-factor on the offensive end, scoring just 10 points on 2-for-7 shooting. Green was, however, brilliant on defense with five steals and four blocks, and will need to have a similar performance on that side of the ball if the Warriors are to have any chance at slowing down LeBron James.
SF LeBron James (29.3 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 8.3 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.2 BPG in playoffs) is playing his best basketball in the postseason. He is the main reason the Cavs were able to leave Golden State tied in the series at one game apiece, as he has averaged an otherworldly 41.5 PPG, 12.0 RPG and 8.5 APG in the series thus far. He has needed 72 field goal attempts in the first two games combined to reach his gaudy scoring totals, and will be expected to continue his aggressive play on Tuesday.
C Timofey Mozgov (10.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG in playoffs) put up a double-double in Game 2 with 17 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes of action, and he could see more playing time in the fourth quarter in Game 3 after sitting out the final frame and overtime in Cleveland’s win over Golden State on Sunday.
PF Tristan Thompson (8.5 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.3 BPG) has been too much to handle on the boards for the Warriors, and is averaging 14.5 RPG in the Finals, including 6.5 ORPG. His rebounding could be the deciding factor in Game 3 and in the series overall.
