How can the Underdogs Cavaliers get Back in the Series? You’ll never find Lebron James betting on basketball, which as a player he shouldn’t anyway. However, he should pay a little more attention to his team’s odds of winning game 3 of the NBA finals series versus the Golden State Warriors, even though he said he does not like to get involved in that. At SBG Global sportsbook, they stand thus:
Cavaliers +6½ (-110) 207 (-110) +225
Warriors -6½ (-110) 207 (-110) -265
Other than that, The King doesn’t have to change anything or do anything differently than he did in game 1 and 2. According to CBS Sports, James had a bad game and needs to improve if the Cavs want to have a shot at the title. We need not discuss that other than saying that Lebron had a much better game than either Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson. Alex Wong of Sporting News hit a lot closer to home when he implied that Cleveland has to reach beyond Lebron James. After all, this is not Lebron vs. Steph; it’s the Warriors vs. the Cavaliers. And so far, GS has proven to be a more complete team with better chemistry than the Cavs.
The funny thing is that James has also said that the 2016 Cavaliers are “better built” for the Warriors, and he’s right. For one thing, their Big Three is in good health this year – fans betting on basketball will recall that Kyrie Irving missed most of the 2015 Finals with a knee injury. And both he and Kevin Love delivered the goods along with James last night. So what’s missing? According to the King, what they’re missing are better “ingredients” (if you smeeell… what Lebron… is… cooking). Metaphorically speaking, of course. And once again, he’s absolutely right.
About game 1 James said that giving “up 45 points off the bench and 25 points off turnovers on the road, it’s not a good ingredient to win.” Then he added that “the fact that we had 17 turnovers and that led to 25 points is not a good ingredient for our offense for sure.” Can’t argue with you there, King. On the other hand, coach Tyronn Lue seemed to beg to differ, saying that he felt good about how they played, and that the team was fine. Moreover, he pointed to Cleveland’s 21-of-49 shooting in the paint as evidence that it was just a hit-and-miss night. Other than moving some things around after the Cavs’ few losses this postseason, Lue hasn’t made any real changes to the formula, and who could blame him? Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.
This time is different, though, and the odds don’t look good for Cleveland at SBG Global sportsbook. Something has got to give; otherwise the big rematch that people betting on basketball have been waiting a year for will be a blink-and-you-missed-it affair.