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ESPN Staff Writer- Dave Tuley has covered the Las Vegas race and sports book scene since 1998 and runs his own website, ViewFromVegas.com.
LAS VEGAS -- The NBA Finals begin on Thursday (9 p.m. ET, ABC) and feature a rematch of last year's championship series, the matchup everyone was hoping to see: the Golden State Warriors vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In this NBA Finals Betting Guide with Erin Rynning, we're going to look at how the playoffs have progressed so far (from a betting perspective) and then we'll look at the series odds and Game 1. We'll be back before each game to give our updated thoughts and betting strategies for the series.
Despite the Warriors getting a scare and having to rally from a 3-games-to-1 deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, the NBA playoffs have been very chalky this postseason. There have been only two series upsets (out of the first 14 series) with the Portland Trail Blazers ousting the injury-depleted Los Angeles Clippers in the first round and the Thunder knocking off the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals.
Favorites and unders have dominated in individual games as well, as favorites are 46-32-1 against the spread (59 percent) heading into the NBA Finals, and unders are 48-31 (60.8 percent). As for the two surviving teams, their playoff betting numbers are below.
