The Golden State Warriors have gone from the odds equivalent of the penthouse to the outhouse over the course of the past week.
That’s thanks to the team’s losses in Games 1 and 3 of the 2022 NBA Finals to the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics, with Wednesday’s 116-100 defeat handing Ime Udoka’s team a series advantage.
Now, the Warriors must collect themselves and try to right their collective wrongs before Game 4 tips off at 6 p.m. Pacific time Friday on ABC.
Steve Kerr’s team lost Game 3, as Boston outscored the Warriors, 33-22, in the game’s opening quarter.
From there, the Warriors were forced to try and punch their way off the ropes, entering halftime trailing, 68-56.
Golden State was able to gather some semblance of momentum in the third, outscoring Boston by eight points, but squandered that good will in the final quarter, in which the Celtic’s outscored them, 23-11.
As a result, the Warriors enter Friday’s Game 4 with a need to earn a road win to send the series back to San Francisco tied.
Here’s what you need to know about Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Finals, from a betting perspective.
There is no legal California sports betting.
But two different sports betting initiatives will go before voters in November.
NBA Finals Schedule
- Game 1: Boston 120, Golden State 108
- Game 2: Golden State 107, Boston 88
- Game 3: Boston 116, Golden State 100 (Boston leads 2-1).
- Game 4: Friday at Boston, 6 p.m., ABC
- Game 5: Monday at Golden State, 6 p.m., ABC
- Game 6: June 16 at Boston, 6 p.m., ABC (if nec.)
- Game 7: June 19 at Golden State, 5 p.m., ABC (if nec.)
Warriors Enter Game 4 as an Underdog (Again)
It’ll be déjà vu all over again for Golden State, at least when it comes to betting lines.
The Warriors, who were 3.5-point underdogs in Game 3, find themselves anywhere from 3.5-point (BetMGM) to 4-point (Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook) dogs Friday night on national mobile betting apps.
The onus will need to be on stymying Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, who scored a team-high 27 points.
For those looking to place a moneyline wager, both BetMGM and Caesars have the Warriors at +145.
Warriors See NBA Finals Odds Drop After Game 3
Golden State’s championship odds continued their week-long slide entering Game 4, with BetMGM dropping the Warriors from +140 on June 3 to +180 on Thursday.
Caesars Sportsbook has the Warriors at +190 (Boston -230) to win the series, which is a sizable drop from the +145 the team was listed at June 3.
The Emperor also has figures on the series outcome, with Boston 4-2 (+180) and Boston 4-1 (+290) having the best odds, followed by Golden State 4-2 (+310), Boston 4-3 (+550) and Golden State 4-3 (+800).
The oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook have dropped the Warriors from +160 on June 3 to +200 on Thursday, while boosting Boston from -190 to -240 to capture the series.
