The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming home.
And when they get there, they'll be underdogs.
Moments after the Cavs' lost Game 2 of the 2018 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night, sportsbooks released their lines and odds for Game 3. According to most books, including the Westgate LV SuperBook, the Cavs will be a 5-point underdog on Wednesday night, marking the first time all postseason Cleveland hasn't been favored at home.
After entering the series as the biggest underdog in recent NBA Finals history, the Cavs have only seen their odds of winning the series shrink after losing its first two games. At the start of the Finals, Golden State was a -1100 favorite to win the series, meaning it would take a $1,100 wager to net $100 on a successful bet. As of Sunday night, winning $100 on a Warriors series win would now require a $2,500 wager.
Meanwhile, a successful $100 bet on the Cavs to win the series would now return $1,000.
But while the odds may currently be stacked against Cleveland, the Cavs have been in this position before. Twice in the last three seasons, LeBron James and Co. have overcome 0-2 series deficits, including the 2016 NBA Finals against the Warriors and more recently, this year's Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.
Doing the same against this Golden State team, however, will be a much taller task, but that's not to say the Cavs won't be able to hold serve on their homecourt. And if they do, it could pay off in more ways than one.
