Down 3-1 to the Thunder in the Western Conference finals and just one loss away from being eliminated from the playoffs, the Warriors have their backs against the walls. This is a somewhat shocking predicament for Golden State to be in.
The Warriors made history by finishing the regular season with an NBA-record 73 wins, and then preceded to lose just twice more before the conference finals. Due to their dominance all season, they were the favorites to win the championship for all of 2015-16. Now at the brink of elimination, that has changed. According to one Las Vegas sportsbook, Bovada, the odds are now against the Warriors repeating as champions. Instead, the Cleveland Cavaliers now have the best odds at winning the 2016 NBA championship.
From Bovada.lv:
Cleveland Cavaliers 7/5
Oklahoma City Thunder 8/5
Golden State Warriors 3/1
Toronto Raptors 25/1
The Cavs being highly favored is interesting as they just lost two straight while the Thunder are just one win away from reaching the NBA Finals. But the LeBron James factor may have given Cleveland a slight edge over the Thunder.
The Warriors are far from done though. SportsLine projects Golden State to win Game 5 and gives them a 28.2 chance to win the West and a 21.2 percent chance of winning the championship. Not the best odds but nine other teams have rallied from a 3-1 deficit before so the Warriors have a chance at pulling it off. Plus, it's happened three times before in the conference finals, and two of those times the higher seed was able to come back and win the series.
If the Warriors do, it would just add to the grandeur of their historic season. If they don't, all those records achieved may serve as a footnote for their inability to repeat as champions.
