Game 3 NBA Finals Prediction: Golden State Warriors vs Cleveland Cavaliers, 6–6–2018
Free NBA Total Pick by Brandon Donelly of ATS Experts
Golden State Warriors (72–29) vs Cleveland Cavaliers (62–40)
Date: June 6th, 2018
Game Time: 9:00 pm
NBA Odds: Cavaliers +4.5, 217
The Cleveland Cavaliers return home in an attempt to turn around this series and avoid a sweep when they host the Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night. Steph Curry set an NBA Finals record with nine three-pointers and scored a game-high 33 points en route to a 122–103 Golden State victory. The Cavaliers are +4.5 point home underdogs in Game 3 after going 37–13 SU on the season at Quicken Loans Arena.
After going up 2–0 in the NBA Finals, the Warriors must remain aggressive and avoid a second epic Finals collapse to the Cavaliers. Golden State went up 2–0 in 2016 to the Cavs and allowed Cleveland to get back in the series, losing in 7 games. Golden State knows if they win Game 3, they will be in a great position to win their third title in four years. Kevin Durant is averaging 28.7 points and 7.3 rebounds while Stephen Curry is averaging 25.8 points and 5.5 assists. Klay Thompson is the third double-digit scorer and Draymond Green is grabbing 11.4 rebounds. Golden State has been deadly from the field and as a team, they are shooting close to 48% from the field throughout the postseason.
After scoring 51 points in Game 1, LeBron James was held to 29 points in Game 2. The Cavaliers have been riding James all season and his supporting cast has been exposed in this Finals series. In the Playoffs, James is averaging 34.9 points, 9.1 assists, and 8.6 assists per game. In Game 2, Cleveland shot only 41.1 percent from the field and connected on just nine of 27 three-point attempts while sinking 20 of 26 free throws. Poor shooting and poor defense sank the Cavaliers chances of pulling off a Game 2 win on the road. Cleveland must now pull from their experience in 2016 and secure a Game 3 win to prevent Golden State from sweeping the Cavs.
Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals went OVER the Total. The Over is 6–0 in Warriors last 6 NBA Championship games and the Over is 10–1 in Cavaliers last 11 home games following a road trip of 7 or more days and the Over is 6–2 in the last 8 meetings.
Cleveland has not been able to slow down the Warriors offense and the Cavaliers are a better home team than away. I see the trend of this Finals series continuing and expect the Total to go Over 217.
Warriors vs Cavaliers Free Pick: Over 217
