NBA Finals 2017 Betting Odds: Warriors' Sweep More Likely Than Cavaliers' Championship

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the defending champions with the best player in the league, but it sure doesn’t feel like that when listening to people talk about the 2017 NBA Finals. Most experts are picking the Golden State Warriors to win the title, and the betting odds indicate that the series might not be very competitive.

With a week in between the end of the Eastern Conference Finals and Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the betting odds have changed at different sportsbooks. Cleveland’s odds went from +220 to +200 at the Las Vegas Westgate SuperBook, and Golden State moved from a -260 to a -240 favorite. Less than 12 hours before tip off, Sportsbook.ag has it +210 for the Cavs and -250 for Golden State.

READ: Ranking The Top 10 Players In The 2017 NBA Finals

Two years ago, it took the Warriors six games to beat Cleveland, even though Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were unavailable. The Cavs won the 2016 NBA Finals in seven games, and the Warriors responded by signing Kevin Durant in free agency. The oddsmakers seem to believe that adding the All-Star forward will make a world of difference.

Not only are the Warriors heavy favorites, but the betting odds indicate that the most likely outcome is a Golden State victory in five games. That result has +250 odds at Sportsbook.ag, followed by Warriors in seven (+400) and Warriors in six (+420). A sweep for Golden State (+580) even has better odds than Cleveland in six (+625).

Because the Cavs would have to win Game 7 on the road at Oracle Arena, that scenario has been given +800 odds. Cleveland in five (+2000) and Cleveland in four (+4000) are considered to be long shots.

Despite what the odds say, the Cavaliers have let it be known that they don’t feel like underdogs. Kevin Love has been the most outspoken member of the team, though he understands how well Golden State has played before the finals.

“Like 'Bron said in his postgame presser, they've been right at the top, best team in the league for three years straight now. They've been super-impressive,” Love told reporters earlier this week. “It's kind of in our minds that that's who we were going to see. They played great basketball this year. Obviously, adding an MVP [Kevin Durant] to a team that already has a two-time MVP [Curry], that makes them even more impressive. It's tough to say that we didn't expect it. We knew they'd be right there.”

If the Warriors can beat the Cavaliers in five games, they will become the first team since the 2001 Lakers to lose just once through four rounds of the NBA playoffs. No team has ever gone 16-0, which Golden State would do with a sweep of Cleveland.

Golden State is a seven-point favorite in Game 1 at home, where they defeated Cleveland by 35 points in the regular season. A week before the series moves to Cleveland in Game 3, the Cavs are two-point favorites at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs beat the Warriors by one point in Cleveland on Christmas Day.