Cavs Enter Game 2 Of NBA Finals As 8-Point Underdogs Against Warriors

After coming up short in a 108-100 overtime loss Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers look ahead to Game 2 against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday as 8-point underdogs at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

The Cavaliers came within a missed buzzer-beater of picking up the straight-up win in Game 1 before being outscored 10-2 in overtime to set a new NBA Finals standard for overtime point-scoring futility.

Cleveland also was hit hard by the injury bug, which has plagued it throughout the postseason, with Kyrie Irving injuring his knee and leaving the building on crutches. Irving suffered a fractured left kneecap and underwent surgery that will sideline him for the remainder of the NBA Finals.

However, it remains to be seen if the loss of Irving will impact the Cavs’ odds in the games ahead. Cleveland was a solid 2-0 straight up (SU) in two games without Irving against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, including a decisive 94-82 road win as 3.5-point NBA betting underdogs.

The loss in Game 1 ended the Cavaliers’ seven-game SU win streak, and marks their second against the spread (ATS) loss in their last three outings after failing to cover as six-point underdogs at the sportsbooks

The Cavs also drop to 1-4 SU in their last five road games against Golden State and have now covered in just one of their last seven according to the OddsShark NBA Database.

As expected, LeBron James was a dominant force on the floor for Cleveland in Game 1, tallying 44 points, while Irving picked up 23 points in the contest.

However, it was the Warriors’ bench that proved to be the difference, outscoring the Cavs’ bench 34-9 including 10 crucial points in the fourth quarter.

Despite their strong team play, the Warriors failed to match their regular season average of 110 points per game for the 12th time in 16 playoff contests and picked up just their third ATS win in their last six games.

Golden State still remains a dominant team at home. The club has not lost back-to-back games on its home floor in almost 18 months, and enters Game 2 of the Cavaliers vs. Warriors betting matchup Sunday night at Oracle Arena with a 47-3 combined home record this season, tying them for eighth on the all-time NBA list.

Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images