Michael Hickey/Getty Images The Golden State Warriors will host the Cleveland Cavaliers for Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. ABC will broadcast the game. While the Warriors look like heavy favorites at first glance, the Cavaliers have LeBron James, who has been near-invincible in these playoffs thanks to his 34.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Perhaps he wills the Cavs to victory, although beating this Warriors team four times in a seven-game series seems like a very tall task. Here's a look at the spread and over/under totals for this game, per OddsShark, in addition to a few notable props via OddsShark and Oddschecker. Predictions are also offered for all of the listed bets. Spread, Over/Under and Predictions Per OddsShark, the Warriors are 12.5-point favorites over the Cavaliers in Game 1, with the over/under total set at 214.5 points. The line opened with an 11.5-point spread and 217.5-point over/under mark. Video Play Button Videos you might like The following point spreads indicate the Warriors' margin of victory in their home playoff wins this year: 21, 15, eight, 22, five, nine, 41, 29. Their lone loss at Oracle Arena was a 95-92 defeat to the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference finals. Prior to that game, Golden State hadn't lost a home playoff game since Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. The Warriors' home-court dominance is reason enough to believe that they can surpass the 12.5-point spread, and that's even with Cleveland's second-leading scorer (Kevin Love) returning. Love, who was in the league's concussion protocol after a collision with Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, will be back for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated: Rachel Nichols of ESPN also provided comments from Cavs head coach Ty Lue about Love's availability: While Love is a huge boost to Cleveland on the offensive end, the Cavaliers are still going to have trouble on defense. In particular, the Golden State backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson provides a clear mismatch for any of the Cavs guards. Given that, plus the Warriors' home-court advantage, the edge here goes to Golden State and the over. Pick: Warriors, Over Notable Props and Predictions NBA Finals MVP Per OddsShark, Warriors forward Kevin Durant is the clear favorite to win NBA Finals MVP given his -150 odds (a $150 bet would net $100), while Dubs point guard Stephen Curry is second on the odds ledger with +175 odds. LeBron James (+700), Warriors forward Draymond Green (+1000) and Golden State guard Klay Thompson (+1400) round out the rest of the MVP table. Curry and Green seemingly present the most value. It's possible that Curry gets hot from three-point land and averages over 30 points per game for the series. Likewise, Green could simply post triple-doubles and play excellent defense for the majority of the NBA Finals and take the MVP as well. The safest bet between those two is Curry, who has fared well in his last six games (28.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.0 steals) and looked 100 percent after a Grade 2 MCL sprain forced him to miss nearly two months of action. Pick: Curry Will LeBron James Win the Finals MVP Despite the Cavaliers Losing the Series? Per OddsShark, bettors have +900 odds if they take LeBron James to win the NBA Finals MVP award even if the Cavaliers fall in the NBA Finals. On the opposite side, the books list -1800 odds against that happening. The former bet is an interesting one. The NBA Finals MVP award was first granted in 1969, when Los Angeles Lakers guard Jerry West took the honor after averaging 37.9 points, 7.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds in seven games against the Boston Celtics. It was an incredible accomplishment, especially considering the fact that the Lakers lost the series in seven games. That year marked the only time a player on the losing NBA Finals team won the MVP award. In order for that to happen again, LeBron James would clearly have to be the best player on the floor for the entire series (as West was in 1969), and the NBA Finals likely has to go the full seven games. It's a testament to how great James has been in the playoffs, but this bet actually seems conceivable. It's certainly possible James posts the best stats out of anyone on the floor, but the issue is whether this series can go deep. It's hard seeing the Cavs taking a home game per reasons listed above, but it's certainly possible that they hold serve in Quicken Loans Arena, where they have gone 37-13 this year (including playoffs). Ultimately, taking James in this wager isn't the safest proposition, so it's best to avoid it, but the +900 odds are definitely intriguing. Pick: No Third-Quarter Winner Per OddsChecker, sportsbooks are offering 5-16 and 10-29 odds for the Warriors to win the third quarter. That's not a great return on investment (a $320 bet on the 5-16 odds would net just $100, for example). That being said, the Warriors are a phenomenal third-quarter team, averaging 30.3 points per game in that frame. That mark leads the league. Furthermore, the Warriors have outscored their opponents in the third quarter eight out of nine times dating back to a Game 3 loss in the conference semifinals to the New Orleans Pelicans. Since then, these are the following third-quarter edges the Warriors built: 14, 17, seven, 10, 17, one, 17, 18. All told, their average margin of third-quarter victory is 12.6 points during those eight games. While there's no such thing as a sure bet, as far as in-game props go, picking the Warriors to win the third quarter seems like the one closest to a lock. Pick: Warriors<doc-sep>Marc Stein: Feel-out game? LeBron is just feelin’ it. Period. He’s 6 for 7 from the field after finally missing an elbow jumper. 2nd Quarter: Warriors Have No Answer for LeBron James The Warriors, trailing by seven points, called a timeout with 7:48 remaining in the quarter. The most notable problem on Golden State’s end is probably Kevin Durant not making an impact, with only 6 points in 13 minutes. But the far bigger problem is Golden State not being able to slow down LeBron James at all without Andre Iguodala out. He has been able to do anything he wants offensively. The Warriors need to do something to break his rhythm because expecting him to wear out like James Harden did in the Western Conference finals is not a good strategy against the tireless James. Marc Stein: Where is the Golden State defense? Translation: Where is the Golden State focus and effort? The Warriors just held the Houston offensive juggernaut under 100 points in five straight games. But they’re not playing with anything close to the same level of focus. Might they be waiting for the third quarter? (For the record: I am NOT feeling the suit shorts LeBron wore when he strolled into Oracle Arena tonight. And, yes, I secretly dream of writing for the NYT Style section.) 2nd Quarter: It’s All Offense So Far The timeout appeared to reset the Warriors, who went on a quick 5-2 run that forced Cleveland to take a timeout of its own. The little burst included Klay Thompson hitting a 26-foot 3-pointer, showing no ill effects from the collision earlier. LeBron James is up to 20 points already on 8 of 9 shooting and has chipped in with four assists as well. 2nd Quarter: Even With James on the Bench, Cavs Execute Coach Tyronn Lue clearly had a plan with that timeout. LeBron James came out of the game for a rest with the score 44-40 in Cleveland’s favor. An immediate 3-pointer by George Hill, a steal followed by a Larry Nance Jr. dunk and a midrange shot by Kevin Love had it 51-40 before Klay Thompson ended the run with a 3-pointer. By the time James checked back into the game with 3:07 remaining, Cleveland had outscored Golden State by a score of 7-5 in his absence which is something the Cavaliers are almost never capable of doing. 2nd Quarter: Green’s Hard Foul Puts James on the Floor Draymond Green picked up his third personal foul of the game in a hard collision with LeBron James under the basket in which Green’s left hand hit James directly in the face, resulting in James being on the court for a few moments to collect himself. Green received his fourth technical foul of the postseason and headed to the bench.<doc-sep>
Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press The Golden State Warriors may hold the early series advantage in the 2018 NBA Finals, but they were far from perfect in Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland had an opportunity to win the game in regulation, and even though it got buried in overtime by the defending champion, it has to take some confidence into Game 2. In order for the Cavaliers to challenge again in Game 2, they'll need additional contributions from their supporting cast, while the Warriors must receive stellar shooting performances from their collection of superstars. In the previous three NBA Finals matchups between the Cavaliers and Warriors, the series has been tied 1-1 once, while Golden State took a 2-0 lead in the last two championship series. Game 2 Information Date: Sunday, June 3 Video Play Button Videos you might like Time: 8 p.m. ET TV: ABC Predictions JR Smith Responds to Game 1 Blunder With 20-Point Performance There's nothing JR Smith can do about his late-game blunder in Game 1 except bounce back from it in Game 2. Smith understandably took the Game 1 defeat hard, but his teammates, including LeBron James, have confidence he'll rebound based off what they've seen from him in the past, per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated: The 32-year-old forward scored in double digits on nine occasions in 19 postseason games against Indiana, Toronto, Boston and Golden State, with only one being of the 20-point variety. While it may seem like too bold of a prediction to call for Smith to drop 20 points on the Warriors, the Cavaliers need a third scorer to step up behind James and Kevin Love, and Smith needs to make a statement to prove he's over the Game 1 disappointment. Smith is capable of filling into the scoring role in the NBA Finals, as he reached double digits in the final three games of the championship series a year ago, including a 25-point performance in Game 5 when the Warriors clinched the title. Since Golden State's defensive focus will be on James, who dropped 51 points in Game 1, and Love, who has proved to be the only other consistent scorer on the Cavs roster in the playoffs, the door should be open for Smith to get hot in the first half and continue the success after halftime. Draymond Green Breaks Out of Offensive Slump Since the start of the Western Conference final, Draymond Green's offensive production has been less than ideal. Although he's contributed in other facets of the game, Green hasn't scored more than 13 points in his last eight contests. Green doesn't have to be the star scorer in the Warriors lineup because of the presence of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant, but when he's shooting well, the defending champion is unstoppable. Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images With Cleveland taking advantage of the Warriors' defensive struggles without Andre Igoudala in the lineup, Steve Kerr's team needs all hands on deck offensively. Green showed some signs of improvement in the second half of Game 1, as he knocked down a critical three-pointer with just under five minutes left to put Golden State ahead 97-94. Game 1 marked the first time since Game 4 of the second-round series against the New Orleans Pelicans in which Green made more than one shot from beyond the arc. With more pressure expected to come from James, Love and the Cleveland supporting cast, all of Golden State's top scorers need to find a way to contribute, and if Green reaches close to 20 points, we could witness a dominant offensive performance from the Warriors. Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Basketball Reference.