Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Game 2: Prediction, Betting Odds For 2018 NBA Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a chance to win at Oracle Arena and make the 2018 NBA Finals interesting. They blew their shot in Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors, and it’s hard to believe they’ll have that same opportunity in Game 2.

LeBron James had one of the great performances in NBA history, scoring 51 points on 59.4 percent shooting, adding eight rebounds and eight assists. But an odd reversed charge call, a missed free throw by George Hill and a mental blunder by J.R. Smith allowed the Warriors to survive regulation and pull away with a 124-114 win in overtime.

The Cavs aren’t expected to keep the next contest as close. Cleveland opened as 12-point underdogs in Game 1, and the betting line is the same for Game 2 Sunday night, according to OddsShark.

James continued to get the same lack of support from his teammates that he’s received throughout most of the playoffs. Larry Nance Jr. was big off the bench, coming one rebound shy of recording a double-double and playing like the Cavs’ second-best player. It’s a role that Jeff Green filled in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and one that a different player seems to take on each night.

That won’t be enough to beat these Warriors, who were fortunate to escape with a Game 1 victory. Durant will likely shoot better than 36 percent from the field in Game 2, and James isn’t getting 50-plus points for a second straight time on the road. Only five players had ever scored 50 points in an NBA Finals game before Thursday night, and James became the first one to wind up on the losing end.

Andre Iguodala didn’t play in Game 1 with a knee injury, though he hopes to be ready for Game 2. He’ll spend a lot of the time guarding James when he finally returns.

It might be a futile effort hoping Smith can bounce back and have a productive Game 2. The shooting guard hasn’t shot better than 37.5 percent from the field in any of his last eight games.

Tristan Thompson was valuable on the defensive end in Game 1, but he put up less than impressive numbers with two points and five rebounds. He averaged fewer than six points and six rebounds in last year’s matchup with Golden State, who makes it difficult for the center to have much success.

Perhaps Kevin Love showed something with 21 points and 13 rebounds in the series opener. He took 20 shots and missed some wide open looks, namely from three-point range, where he failed to connect on seven of eight shots. It was just the third time in 13 career playoff games against the Warriors that Love reached the 20-point mark.

It’s a good bet that Curry and Durant will come back with strong offensive performances in Game 2. Klay Thompson had a bunch of open threes in Game 1, and that will likely continue as Cleveland looks to contain Golden State’s top two scorers.

Perhaps Game 1 was a sign that the series will be closer than we all thought. Golden State’s four All-Stars all played well and Cleveland nearly stole a victory.

But it doesn’t bode well for the Cavs when they came up short during what will likely end up being James’ best game of the series.

Game 2 Prediction: Golden State over Cleveland, 110-103