The 2019 NBA Finals matchup has now been set. After the Toronto Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night, it gave the Golden State Warriors their newest opponent. Toronto will be the Eastern Conference representative now that LeBron James has shifted to the Lakers. However, the Raptors enter the NBA Finals as heavy underdogs.
According to an ESPN report, Caesars Sportsbook started the official betting odds at -320 in favor of the Warriors to win the series. That’s not a surprise as Golden State has held the role of favorites in their past four appearances in the Finals. They have also won two of the past three NBA Championships and their roster of stars has remained pretty much unchanged.
The exception to that could be Kevin Durant. He was NBA Finals MVP in last year’s series. However, he was out for the entire series against the Portland Trail Blazers due to a leg issue. The Warriors won that Western Conference series without Durant, 4-0, in a perfect sweep. Golden State still brings Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green to the matchup as well as a talented rotation.
On the other side, Toronto is coming off a momentum-boosting win. The team achieved their first-ever Eastern Conference Finals win and will now move into their first-ever NBA Finals. Kawhi Leonard has been the main boost for the squad throughout the regular season and playoffs. He’ll continue to hold that role, and will also have fellow All-Star Kyle Lowry as well as rising star Pascal Siakam.
Based on ESPN’s report, Toronto is the second-biggest underdog in the NBA Finals over the past eight years. Only last year’s Cleveland Cavaliers team, which featured LeBron James, was a bigger underdog at the start of their NBA Finals matchup. James was the lone All-Star on that team, although Kevin Love was a former All-Star teammate.
It’s worth mentioning that the Raptors enjoyed success against Golden State during the regular season. Toronto won at home, 131-128 in an overtime game back in late November. They also defeated the Warriors in Oakland in mid-December, 113-93.
The NBA Finals 2019 will officially begin on Thursday (May 30) in Toronto. The game will be televised by ABC with a start time of 9 p.m. Eastern Time. In that first game, Golden State opened as a one-point road favorite. As of this report, the odds have shifted to either “PK” or Toronto as a one-point favorite, per Vegas Insider.
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