When things get started on Thursday, the Warriors and Celtics will face off in the NBA Finals for the second time in NBA history as the Warriors will go for their seventh ring, and the Celtics will go for their 18th.
For the Celtics, Thursday will mark their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010, looking for their first title since 2008, when Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen got them back to the promised land.
A Big Three of their own is still around for the Warriors, looking for their fourth title in eight seasons. Let’s see how things might get started:
#1. Warriors 1H -1.5 | -110 at DK Sportsbook
Winning their three opening games in the Western Conference Finals by an average of 14 points, the Warriors are designed to start fast. They now draw a Celtics team who made the cross country flight this week following clinching Sunday night in Miami.
Boston has been in back-to-back dog fights. First, it was knocking off the reigning NBA Champion Bucks and former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in seven before outlasting Jimmy Butler and the Heat in seven. Now, they draw a Warriors team as healthy as they have been all season, who hasn’t played since May 26.
While I think the Celtics can grab one back home at the TD Garden, look for a sluggish start and for the Warriors to take advantage of a team likely ecstatic just to be here.
#2. Over 212.5 | -110 at DK Sportsbook
The Celtics enter this series first in the NBA Playoffs at holding teams to just 43.4% from the field, turning in one impressive defense performance after another. Led by All-Star Jayson Tatum, averaging 9% more (39.5%) from three-point range on the road this postseason, the Celtics have also been doing it offensively more often than not when needed.
Now enter stage right; The Splash Brothers.
Entering this series, the duo of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson is averaging 45.7 points per game of their own, nearly half of the entire team’s production. Add in emerging star Jordan Poole, who in his very first postseason is averaging 18.4 points off the bench (third-leading scorer on the team), and the Warriors are a nightmare matchup for any team in the league.
With a total that’s likely to keep rising and be quickly adjusted should this game go the way I think it is, I’m taking this undervalued number while it lasts.
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