NBA Finals Betting – (2) Cavaliers at (1) Warriors (Game 5)

Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors (-8.5, 195.5 o/u)

The Golden State Warriors put things in order in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, smashing the shorthanded and fatigued Cleveland Cavaliers 103-82. The Warriors will host Game 5 tonight (8:00 PM Eastern at Oracle Arena) in what both teams will be treating as a must-win contest. 

The Warriors were led by Andre Iguodala and Steph Curry in Game 4, both of whom scored 22 points on the night. Iguodala, who usually comes off the bench, was put in the starting lineup by coach Steve Kerr to guard Lebron James, but the ten-year vet wound up sparking his team at both ends.

“He has been our best player all series,” Kerr said of Iguodala in the postgame press conference.

“He’s one of the X factors, and he came to play,” acknowledged James, who was limited to 20 points on 7/22 shooting. “He shot the ball extremely well. He hit four 3s. He was in attack. He got a couple dunks in transition early on in the game, which got him going, and he was really good for them.”

James had been averaging 41.0 PPG over the first three games of the series. But he and the majority of his teammates looked exhausted in the second half. The Cavs wound up shooting just 33-percent from the field and 14.8-percent from three.

“Offensively we were terrible,” James added. “Sometimes, your offense just doesn’t show up.”

The Warriors controlled the pace in Game 4 and look to have their swagger and confidence back. However, 8.5 points is a big spread against James and the Cavaliers, especially with the tired team getting two days of rest before Game 5. The Cavaliers have also been a good bounce back team, going 7-2 ATS in their last nine following an ATS loss.

Picks: Warriors SU; Cavs (+8.5).

(Photo credit: Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA (AAAA0584) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)