Las Vegas had released its gambling odds for the NBA Finals, and the Golden State Warriors are leading the pack. By far.
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has the Warriors listed as 1-2 favorites. The Cavaliers check in with the second best odds at 7-2, while the Spurs are third at 9-1. For the gambling gurus out there who’ll be betting on ever round, the Warriors a -400 to win the Western Conference.
Coming into the season the Warriors were pegged with an over/under of 66.5 wins. They won 67. Las Vegas had them listed with 2-3 odds before the season began. Now that Kevin Durant is fully healed, not much has changed for the favorites.
“I think we’re in great shape,” Steve Kerr said Wednesday night after the regular season finale. “Other than Matt Barnes’ injury, getting KD back, I think Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson) have been in a good groove the last month, six weeks whatever it is. We’re healthy, we’ve had great contributions off the bench, so I really like the position we’re in going into the playoffs.”
With that said, Vegas odds are not a perfect science. The Warriors were the favorites heading into the Finals last season, too. A 73-win team seemingly got better after winning a title in 2015. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving kiboshed Golden State’s back-to-back plan, reeling off three straight wins in one of the most epic NBA championship series in the history of the sport.
Curry thinks the sting from last season will remain part of the Warriors’ mindset.
“We’re chasing something, we’re not protecting anything this year,” Curry said Wednesday. “So we’ve gotta be ready.”
