Warriors and Cavs pegged as NBA Conference Final favourites

NBA Western Conference final kicks off at Oakland’s Oracle Arena on Tuesday, where top seeds Golden State Warriors play host to the No. 2 Houston Rockets as heavy 10.5-point favourites in NBA betting at Coral.

The Warriors, who led the NBA with 67 regular season wins, advanced to the Conference final for the first time since 1976 after erasing a 2-1 series deficit and recording three dominant SU and ATS victories over Memphis Grizzlies to win their Western Conference semi-final.

Golden State is now 8-2 SU in playoff action, including a first-round sweep of New Orleans Pelicans, and are 3-0 ATS after covering the spread in just three of their previous 13 contests.

Houston Rockets enter the Conference final on a high after staving off elimination in three straight games, erasing a 3-1 series deficit in their Western Conference semi-final to knock off Los Angeles Clippers in seven games.

It looked like the Rockets’ season was done after they routed by the Clippers in three of the first four games, losing by an average margin of 24.7 points in the three defeats, but returned the favour with three double-digit beatings of LA as betting underdogs to earn their first Conference final berth since 1997.

Indeed, the Rockets will have to get used to being pegged as underdogs against a Warriors squad that sports 1/8 odds to advance to the NBA Finals.

The Warriors, who have posted SU and ATS wins in their last five against Houston, are also listed as strong 8/13 favourites, while the Rockets trail the pack as distant 12/1 long shots.

NBA’s Eastern Conference final gets rolling on Wednesday night when Atlanta Hawks welcome Cleveland Cavaliers to Philips Arena as slim 1.5-point favourites.