By
Blake Roberts
Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 02 June 2022
Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief
Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.
It’s time as the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors face off in game one of the 2022 NBA Playoff Finals. We’ve got a full breakdown of the best betting sites, odds, and stats to help you place your bets for this battle of the franchises!
A surprisingly easy Western Conference Finals for the Warriors saw the Dallas Mavericks – fresh off humiliating the Suns at home in game seven – taken down in five games in a series that arguably should’ve been a sweep. That gives Golden State a lot more rest than their opponents.
A much tougher battle took place on the other side of the NBA playoff bracket. The Boston Celtics had to fight through their second straight seven-game series to put down a resurgent Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Riding high after sweeping the pre-season favorite Nets in round one, Boston demonstrated their grit and determination with consecutive seven-game series wins against the defending champion Bucks in round 2 and the 2020 finalist Heat in the conference finals. If this series goes long, the Celtics have proven themselves ready.
If Boston wants to grab that 18th NBA Championship, they’ll be looking to their league-best defense to do it. On the defensive end, Marcus Smart leads a fantastic perimeter defense that could shut down the Warriors’ main offensive weapon, three-point shooting.
Offensively, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have carried the load, averaging 50 points a game, with Brown averaging just short of 50% from the field and nearly 40% from three. While the Celtics need to avoid a three-point shootout, an inside-outside offensive attack could wear down the Warriors’ defense.
| Team | Point Spread | Moneyline | Bet Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | +3.5 (-109) | +140 | Bet Now |
If you’re looking for the top betting site for the spread, we like the look of the +3.5 at Twinspires, which matches or beats any competitor site. The +140 moneyline at BetMGM also pips the competition by a cent or two in most cases. You can check out our BetMGM Michigan review for a closer look at the site. Place your bets at BetMGM in Michigan today.
Momentum is in the Warriors’ favor; they barely broke a sweat getting past the Nuggets in five in round one. Golden State went over the fiery Grizzlies in six in round two before knocking off the upstart Mavs with relative ease in a five-game Western conference finals series.
Golden State’s three-guard attack of Curry, Thompson, and Poole has been creating havoc throughout the playoffs. With only Curry shooting over 20 points per game throughout the playoffs, it’s the Warriors’ ability to spread the scoring across all five players on the floor that could make the difference.
Going up against the best defense in the NBA, ball movement is the Warriors’ best attack, especially with Al Horford in the center for the Celtics. Defensively, the small ball lineup could struggle to stop Boston’s much taller players. Steals over blocks are likely to be the way for Golden State.
| Team | Point Spread | Moneyline | Bet Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | -3.5 (-110) | -155 | Bet Now |
We like the 3.5 point spread at WynnBET’s site for gamblers in Colorado, it’s better than the 4.0 being offered at other Colorado sports betting sites. If you’re looking for the best moneyline bet, we also really like WynnBET Colorado where you can capitalize on its offer of -155, a cent or two better than most competitor sites in the state.
The over/under is a tough one to call in this match-up. With both teams capable of explosive offensive performances and lock-down defense, it could genuinely go either way. This is shown in the over/under which sits at the 212.5 mark at most sports betting sites.
If the total stays under that 212.5 mark, it’ll be because this becomes a battle of the defenses, with smothering play stopping too many long-range shots going up, keeping both teams to around the 100-point mark by the end of the game.
If you’re betting over, you’re looking for some players to catch fire. If Steph and Jalen Brown both start feeling themselves from beyond the arc, then that 212.5 limit could be blown out of the water with time left in the fourth.
| Team | Total | Bonus | Bet Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM | O 212.5 (- 110) U 212.5 (+ 110) | 100% up to $1,000 Free Bet | Bet Now |
The Warriors fanbase is among the loudest in the NBA, and one of the toughest for visiting teams. Dub Nation has been waiting a long time for Golden State to return to the NBA Finals, so Boston can expect a hostile environment from the second they set foot on the floor.
The first game of the 2022 NBA Playoff Finals will take place at night in San Francisco.
Game one of the NBA Finals will be shown live on ABC and via livestream. You can also live stream via Sling.
Golden State is the favorite with experts going into game one, but Boston has been surprising people all year and is very capable of doing so again in the series opener. The spread represents the defensive prowess of both teams, with the odds favoring a slim Golden State win.
Both the Dubs and the Celtics ranked in the top three in multiple defensive categories for the season, with Boston looking to perimeter specialist and recently crowned Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to lead the charge in shutting down the Warriors prolific shooters.
For the Warriors, injuries could play a big factor. Gary Payton II may be back in time for game one, and his passion could give Golden State that extra push. Game one could come down to one mistake on the defensive end, or one difficult shot dropping at the right time.
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