Cleveland @ Golden State NBA Finals Game 2 Betting Preview

Posted by Eric Williams on Saturday,June 4, 2016 6:30, EDT in

After losing Game 1 against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, LeBron James and the underdog Cleveland Cavaliers will look to bounce back in Game 2 and cover the NBA online odds as a 6.5-point road dog. Now, let’s find out which title hopeful ball club will bring home the bacon on Sunday night.

How To Bet the Cavaliers @ Warriors NBA Finals Game 2 Odds, TV & Game Info

When: June 5, 2016 at 8:00 PM ET
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
TV: ABC
Radio: Warriors and Cavaliers
TV Stream: ABCSports
NBA Odds: Warriors -6.5
Game Total: 207

Why Bet on Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers (57-25 SU, 37-43-2 ATS) have lost three of their last five games, but they will come outwit a renewed effort after getting man-handled in their humbling 104-89 Game 1 loss to the Dubs on Thursday night while never coming close to covering the spread as 6-point road dogs. The Cavs got a game-high 26 points from Kyrie Irving and 21 points from LeBron James, but the pair combined to shoot a combined 16-for-43 from the field while Kevin Love added 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting. More importantly, the Cavaliers got just 10 points from their bench players while finishing Game 1 shooting a dismal 38.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. Cleveland is just 2-2-1 ATS over their last five games and 1-4 ATS in its last five road games overall.

“When you get outscored 45-10 on the bench and give up 25 points off 17 turnovers, no matter what someone does or doesn’t do, it’s going to be hard to win, especially on the road,” James said. “Don’t matter what you do with Steph and Klay, don’t matter what you do with Draymond.”

Why Bet on the Golden State Warriors

The Warriors (73-9 SU, 43-36-3 ATS) got the big win in Game 1 despite getting just 11 points from two-time league MVP Steph Curry and just nine points from Splash Brothers backcourt running mate Klay Thompson. “You don’t win championships without the entire squad coming in and making an impact on games,” Curry said. “That’s why we’re here.” While starting forwards Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes scored 16 and 13 points respectively, it was veteran backup point guard Shaun Livingston that repeatedly torched the Cavs by scoring a team-high 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field. Fellow reserves Andre Iguodala and Leandro ‘The Brazilian Blur’ Barbosa added 12 and 11 points respectively off the bench with Iguodala repeatedly shutting down James, Irving and whomever else he guarded.

The Warriors shot a solid 49.4 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc and were a stunning +21 with Iguodala on court and +20 with Livingston playing.The Dubs are a pristine 6-0 SU and a near perfect 5-1 ATS in their last half-dozen games against the Cavaliers.

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My Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

There’s no sense in beating around the bush with my pick on Game 2 since I fully expect the Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors to roll to another convincing victory over LeBron James and company. Just thinking about the fact that the Warriors won Game 1 by a decisive 15 points with Curry and Klay Thompson combining for a paltry 20 points tells me the Cavaliers are in real and present danger when either of the pair, r God forbid, both, get it going from outside. Golden State is a more cohesive team with a free-flowing offense in which any of their players on the court can hurt the Cavs.

Cleveland doesn’t have an answer for Shaun Livingston off the bench and simply doesn’t have a talented enough bench of their own in order to keep up with the sweet-shooting Warriors. I’m a bit surprised that the online NBA Betting odds for this Game 2 matchup is nearly identical to the line for Game 1, but hey I say take the ‘free’ money and run!

The Warriors have won 12 of their last 13 home games and aren’t likely to lose another at Oracle Arena after the scare the Oklahoma City Thunder put on them in the Western Conference Finals. Golden State wins and easily covers the spread!

My final score prediction: Golden State 108 Cleveland 99