NBA Finals game 3 betting guide: can Cleveland bounce back?

NBA Finals, Game 3. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors. Wednesday, June 8, 9pm

Series results – Golden State Warriors 2-0
Game 1: Golden State 104 – Cleveland 89
Game 2: Golden State 110 – Cleveland 77

Game 3 moneyline odds:
Cavaliers: -108
Warriors: -116

Game 3 spread:
Cavaliers: +1.5 (-110 at Bovada.lv)
Warriors: -1.5 (-110)

ONLY one team has turned up to the NBA Finals so far and bettors of the Cleveland Cavaliers are hoping home court advantage can turn the series around.

Golden State has dominated proceedings so far with two easy wins at home, but home court advantage is huge for the Cavaliers which have all but been written off to become NBA champions.

The Cavaliers opened as favourites for Game 3, but money has come in steadily for the Warriors as expected. The public are all over the Warriors and rightfully so, but that doesn’t mean they will go into Cleveland and wipe the floor of a team which still has plenty going for it.

Cleveland showed in the Toronto series that home court advantage is enough to turn a team around and the Cleveland faithful will be pulling them over the line. Getting the Cavs’ as a home underdog is a great situation for bettors, even this late in the season, and we’re expecting sharps to be all over the current -108 money line.

Why Cleveland will turn the series around

LeBron James has his doubters and his finals statistic is being brought up left, right and center. James is 2-4 in the NBA Finals, but the fact that he is starring in his seventh finals series is a credit to his champion abilities.

We’re not saying LeBron will have to go into beast mode for the Cavaliers to win Game 3, in fact it’s quite the opposite. His right hand man, Kyrie Irving, needs to step up and start knocking down shots. The home court familiarity should help with this and being one of the NBA’s best ball-handlers, Irving should be running rings around the likes of Green and Bogut in the paint.

The Cavaliers also need help from its supporting cast. Both J.R Smith and Iman Shumpert have been relatively absent from the series so far and they desperately need one of these two players to start making threes. Also included in the mix is the form of Kevin Love. The injury-prone shot maker may have suffered a concussion in Game 2, but will likely play this game.

Love is a player that is hard to like, even for loyal Cleveland fans, so he needs to put in a big performance on Wednesday. There is only one way to get the respect of his teammates and that’s to show up with your back against the wall.

Can the Warriors beat the Cavaliers away from home?

It took a mammoth effort for Golden State to come back from 3-1 down against the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, but even though they have looked invincible since, there are cracks to be exposed.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have been off in the first two games of the series, that’s a fact. Despite the help coming from the likes of Livingston and Green, Golden State will need either Curry or Thompson to fire up if they’re going to win in Cleveland.

We haven’t been seeing MVP-like games from Curry this post season and although, if Golden State win the finals, Curry will likely win the MVP title, he hasn’t won us over yet. In two games to date, Curry hasn’t scored over 20 points and that’s not good enough from their star. Cleveland play even tougher at home so expect Curry to get some extra attention.

There is no doubt the Warriors could run through Cleveland and take the series 4-0, but the value just isn’t with them. Getting the Cavaliers at underdog odds at home is a gift from the bookmakers and one we’re prepared to take at this point of the finals.

OUR TIP: Take Cavaliers -108 (110 at Bovada.lv) and see the series go back to Oakland.