The Golden State Warriors can take a 3-0 lead and move one step closer to the NBA Championship when they square off against Cleveland in Game 3 of the NBA Finals this Thursday, the 8th of June from 11am.
The Warriors have trounced the Cavaliers in the opening two games of the series, winning the first by 22 points and the second by 19 as Warriors stars Kevin Durant and Steph Curry have led the way averaging 65.5 points between them over the two games.
LeBron James recorded a triple double in the Game 2 loss and the Cavs were much better on offence, scoring 113 in the game. They were unable to corral the Warriors dynamic offence, however, as Durant and co. put up 132 on the Cavs.
The Warriors are now 14-0 through the 2017 playoffs and could become the first ever team to sweep all four rounds if they close this series out in four. It’s a make or break game for the Cavs, who could find themselves in a 3-0 hole, where no team in NBA history has ever come back from.
Because of that, we will likely see LeBron James play most, if not every minute in this game. When he has gone to the bench in the first two games the Cavs have looked horrendous on offence with role players in Kyle Korver, Deron Williams and Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye all struggling. In a do or die game LeBron will get plenty of minutes and plenty of touches here.
TIP: LeBron James OVER 32.5 points - $1.83 at Sportsbet
Kevin Durant has been a beast throughout the first two games, especially on the glass, averaging 10.5 boards. Zaza Pachulia, Draymond Green and JaVale McGee often do the dirty work and get hard boxouts only for Curry and Durant to come through and scoop uncontested rebounds to start the fast break. We saw it in Game 2 as the pair had 23 rebounds between them and we think Durant has a case for another OVER performance here.
TIP: Kevin Durant OVER 8.5 rebounds - $1.85 at Ladbrokes
Draymond Green has gotten plenty of open looks throughout the first two games due to good ball movement and Cavs double teaming Curry and Durant. While he was off in the first game he still jacked up 5 threes and backed it up with another 6 in game two. We are backing him to hit at least two in this game.
TIP: Draymond Green OVER 1.5 threes made - $2.03 at Sportsbet
Even though we went with the value pick before the series and tipped Cleveland to go back to back, after their first two performances it’s incredibly hard to bet against the Warriors here. They have looked a class above and we are actually getting some value for them here in Game 3 being away from home. With a 20.5 average winning margin over the first two games, we’ll happily take the 3.5-point line in this game
TIP: Golden State -3.5 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
