The 2022 NBA Finals are here, as the Golden State Warriors meet up with the Boston Celtics in what looks like a great series on paper. The action gets underway on Thursday night with Game 1 from San Francisco.
West Virginia sportsbooks view it as a tight series as well. Odds vary, but the majority of them show the Warriors as a slight favorite entering the opening tilt.
Casual fans should enjoy this year’s finals, as there’s no shortage of star power among these two sides.
Many became familiar with Steph Curry over the last few seasons. He’s led Golden State into the discussion of a dynasty already, having earned three titles with the franchise.
On the other end of the court, Boston features rising star Jayson Tatum. He’s put on a show throughout most of the postseason, willing the Celtics back to the Finals.
NBA Finals odds at WV sportsbooks
There are lots of ways to bet on the upcoming championship series. Prior to the start of the opening tilt, DraftKings Sportsbook WV lists Golden State at -150 to win it all, while Boston is at +130.
This makes sense for several reasons.
The Warriors have a lot more experience overall. The main pieces from their previous title runs are still key contributors, like Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.
Of course, head coach Steve Kerr is also still there.
It’s tough to gauge how much experience matters, but some teams show a lot more composure down the stretch. This is more evident as the playoffs go on into the final matchup.
Outside of being here before, Golden State appears more complete at the moment. It took care of its series with Dallas in just five games.
Not only is Boston coming off two straight seven-game series, but it’s also banged up. Both Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III missed at least one game in the Eastern Conference Finals.
That said, each played in the last few contests and looked decent.
Each team’s supporting cast looms large; however, these games often come down to the stars.
Curry, Thompson, and Jordan Poole need to continue to score at a high rate for the Warriors. At the same time, Tatum might have the most pressure of any player to perform. Smart, along with Jaylen Brown, must support Tatum to give Boston a real opportunity at lifting the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
Additional NBA Finals markets
Many take the series line before it starts, but WV sportsbooks update their futures sections constantly. This gives you the freedom to wait to see a game or two, or until you get the value you’re looking for.
To no surprise, Golden State is given a slight edge to win the first tilt. DraftKings posts the Warriors giving -3.5 points in the spread, with a moneyline at -160.
Boston is available with the points, or with odds of +140 to steal the game outright. The game total sits at 212.5 points.
The majority of the best online sportsbooks in the Mountain State provide a wide range of betting options each night. These include props for the first basket, individual player markets, and game props like picking the exact score.
DraftKings gives bettors the ability to bet on some specials under its Finals Markets area. Here, you can take something fairly likely to happen, like Curry averaging 25 points and his team coming out victorious, at +120.
It also gives plenty of long shots, with any player to get at least 18 rebounds in a single game at +800, or any to score 50 points with odds of +1100.
If Curry averages 35 or more throughout the entirety of the series, bettors can take advantage of +3500 odds. He’s currently scoring just shy of 26 points per outing during the postseason.
Betting on the NBA Finals MVP
One of the most popular bets every season is for the NBA Finals MVP. In 2022, the books offer what appears to be a two-man race for the award.
Curry and Tatum are well above every other player. At FanDuel WV, Curry’s featured at -115, compared to Tatum at +175.
If you’re looking to put some money down on the MVP market, you should definitely shop around at all of the WV sportsbooks. Since the value for each guy varies based on the operator, you might as well get the most out of your wager.
It’s understandable that Curry and Tatum have a massive advantage in this category. Each player is likely to have a major role in determining which team ends up on top.
However, this does open the door for a huge potential payday from one of the other players.
FanDuel provides Green and Thompson at +2200, with someone like Andrew Wiggins at +4600.
It showcases the Celtics’ Brown with odds of +1100, with Smart at +4100.
Even though Curry or Tatum will probably take home the MVP award, it’s never a sure thing. Before Kevin Durant arrived in town, Andre Iguodala earned the honors over Curry in 2015.
Teams will look to shut someone down on each side, so there’s the potential that a role player will perform better than usual for a seven-game stretch.
