Cavs celebrate
Cleveland Cavaliers could have plenty to celebrate in June, according to a sportsbook in Las Vegas.
(Thomas Ondrey, The Plain Dealer)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The regular season is over and postseason matchups are set. Following a blistering finish to the season's second half, winning 34 of their final 43 games, the Cleveland Cavaliers will open their title run on Sunday afternoon at home against the Boston Celtics.
Despite being the East's No. 2 seed and finishing with seven fewer wins than the balanced and superstar-less Atlanta Hawks, the Cavs will enter the playoffs as the favorite to get to the NBA Finals, according to odds released by a Las Vegas sports book.
Bovada set 1-2 odds for the Cavs to emerge from the East, beating out top-seeded Atlanta (13-4), No. 3 seed Chicago (11-2) and fourth-seeded Toronto (16-1).
So which team has the best chance of being the Cavs opponent in the Finals? That's Golden State, the team holding the league's best record, according to the first odds posted by the sportsbook.
The Warriors (11-10) got the edge over defending champion San Antonio (2-1), second-seeded Houston (8-1), the Los Angeles Clippers (9-1) and tough and rugged Memphis (12-1).
The Cavs and Warriors, two teams predicted to emerge from their respective conferences, share the same probability of winning the 2015 NBA Championship, at 11-5. The star-studded matchup that would feature MVP candidates LeBron James and Stephen Curry is also considered the most likely Finals showdown, according to Vegas.
Following Cleveland and Golden State, the Spurs (7-2) are listed as the team with the third-best chance at winning the championship. The Hawks and Bulls, both tied at 12-1, follow San Antonio, which enters as the West's No. 6 seed.
The odds for series lines and players stats will be released on Friday.