The Golden State Warriors are hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ABC. Currently the NBA Odds for the game have the Warriors listed as the favorites to pick up the win.

NBA Playoff Odds
Golden State -5.5
Total: 210 points

Golden State powered back from a 3-1 series deficit to the Oklahoma City Thunder to advance to a second straight NBA Finals. While the teams are the same, the rematch looks to be a good one as LeBron James and the Cavaliers come in healthy and ready to go.

Last season, James played without the services of Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving and subsequently Golden State marched to the title. It's still possible for them to do the same thing again this Finals, but James has to feel a lot better about his team. One potential negative for the Cavs is Golden State's coming into the Finals on fire, having won three straight games over Oklahoma City.

Steph Curry and the Warriors love to shoot and rely on the 3-pointer. Cleveland has done the same thing this post season. Between the two teams, there should be a ton of perimeter play and less of the power basketball in the paint. Draymond Green does give Golden State an advantage in that area, though Love can match up and play at the four or five spot on the floor.

Rebounding and possession will both be critical tonight. The Cavaliers cannot turn it over on the road as the Warriors will look to make every lost possession from Cleveland count to their advantage. 

Cleveland has has around a bit prior to the start of this series, Golden State comes in red hot and the Warriors are only favored by a couple of buckets. It seems like that should be a bigger number. Cleveland can benefit greatly from a strong performance tonight could go a long way into helping the city break its long, historic streak of not having a professional sports title.

Free Pick: Cleveland

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