Cleveland at Golden State

There has been a long layoff for both teams, so don't expect the offenses to be sharp right out of the gate. Cleveland has had a lot of open looks on three-pointers this postseason but Golden State is dominant on defense, tops in the NBA during the regular season in field goal shooting defense and three-point defense. They can rotate quickly along the perimeter and get a hand in the face of the Cavaliers' three-point shooters. In last year's Games 1 and 2 of the Finals on this court the Cavaliers scored 44 first half points in both games. In the regular season meeting earlier this year they shot 35.2% for the game, and just 9-of-34 from long range. Twelve of 19 games played between these squads have gone UNDER the first half total the last three years, including six of the last 10. In the last NBA Finals meeting both teams played tough defense with Cleveland scoring just 42 first half points. Even in winning Game 7 here Cleveland shot 40.2% for the game, just 6-of-25 from long range. Since 1996 the first half UNDER in the NBA Finals is on a 70-41 run. The average first half total posted in those games has been 94.9 and the average first half total score was 91.6. And this first half total is much higher. In addition, Golden State blew Cleveland out in Games 1 and 2 last season, 104-89 and 110-77, and the Warriors are a better team with the addition of Kevin Durant. The Warriors are on a 20-6-1 ATS run, plus 12-3-1 ATS after allowing 100+ points in their previous game. The UNDER is also 8-1-2 when these teams battle at Golden State, so the wagering value is on the Warriors to cover the whole game and the first half to be a defensive duel UNDER the total. Play Golden State and the first half UNDER the total.