By Charles Jay
In the NBA Finals odds that are posted on game 3 by the people at Vietbet, the Warriors are actually slight favorites on the road:
Golden State Warriors -1
Cleveland Cavaliers +1
Over 194 points -110
Under 194 points -110
It is no secret as to why the Cleveland Cavaliers are all even in their series against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals, and have been in a position to win both games on their opponents’ home floor. Of course, part of that is the presence of Lebron James, who put together a triple-double of 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists in Game 2. But one of the other reasons is the fact that Cleveland has clearly played these games at a pace that is preferable to them. And they have seen the benefit, as the Warriors didn’t even exceed their season low in points until a few seconds left in regulation in Sunday night’s game. Vietbet customers have seen that Cleveland has been a tough team to score on during the post-season, and that has been a bit surprising to some, since they ranked just #20 in defensive efficiency during the regular campaign.
The Cavaliers once again try to beat the NBA odds in Game 3, which begins at 9 PM ET at the Quicken Loans Arena, where they have won 26 out of their last 28 games. It is highly doubtful that they will hold Steph Curry, the Most Valuable Player in the league, to a 5-23 evening, but there is no question about the fact that they have done a great defensive job against him. This is especially pleasing to them since they don’t have Kyrie Irving, their star point guard, who is out with a knee injury.
The NBA keeps statistics on many things; one of them is “Pace,” which is the number of possessions per 48 minutes for each team. The more possessions, the faster the tempo of play, generally speaking. Golden State led the league in Pace this season at 98.3, while Cleveland was near the bottom at 92.3. Well, when it comes to the first two games of this Finals series, the pace has been 88.9 possessions per 48, which means not only that this has played greatly in the favor of the Cavaliers, but that it is a slower pace than any team in the NBA averaged this season. Clearly the Warriors, despite their ability to play defense (and they led the league in defensive field-goal percentage) want to be faster than that.
Vietbet patrons have seen the Cavaliers very artfully use much of the shot clock when they have the ball, and when they are playing defense, they are doing what they have done for most of the post-season, as they are making it very difficult for the opposition to get off good shots. Steph Curry had a very frustrating evening on Sunday, hitting just five out of 23 and turning the ball over six times. Of course, sometimes you have to give a little to get a little, and the beneficiary here was Klay Thompson, who had a great evening, with 34 points. But the Cavs are doing something that they have wanted to do, which was take advantage of some size on the inside. Timothy Mozgov, the center who was acquired from Denver during the season, had 17 points in Game 2, while Tristan Thompson had 14 rebounds. They can out-muscle Golden State in the paint.
Vietbet offers a great free play bonus, along with reduced juice wagering on NBA odds. With Live Betting Extra, you can wager on the action while it is happening. Remember also that you can make deposits with your Visa card OR Bitcoin!
