BEST LINES:  Pinnacle +13 -104 BET365 +13 -110 SportsInteraction +13 -110 5DIMES +13 -110

Posted at 11:00 AM EST. 

9:05 PM EST. Make no mistake that if Chris Paul did not get injured in Game 5, the Warriors would be watching the NBA Final from the rail. The Rockets doubled Golden State in the series in Points in the Paint. Houston dominated the offensive glass, Houston had fewer turnovers and the Rockets made the Warriors uncomfortable from the onset. Only bad luck (CP3 getting injured) prevented the Rockets from advancing and if you don’t think that LeBron and the Cavs took notice, think again.

Congrats to the Warriors for advancing. Congrats to the Warriors for having the best collection of offensive players assembled in the NBA. Tip of the cap to the Warriors for recruiting Kevin Durant and for where they found Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in the draft. Furthermore, Steph Curry is as much fun as you can have watching a basketball player. However, what we learned and more importantly what LeBron learned is that the Warriors can be pushed around. Michael Jordan’s Bulls could not be pushed around, nor could Isiah Thomas’ Pistons, Bird’s Celtics or the Showtime Lakers. You can not only push around the Warriors, you can get into their head. They were not buttoned up late in games. Their best quarter the entire playoffs has been the third quarter. The Warriors 6’11” great player has virtually no impact on the defensive end. The Warriors are a GREAT group of current players that we all thought were the best team ever assembled and they’re priced like it here but after watching them for seven games against Houston and struggle when the going got tough, there is no question that the cracks have been exposed and there is no question that they can be pushed around. There is not enough nasty on the Warriors.

The Cavaliers are being undersold because the market perception is that they’re a one-man show and while that is absolutely the case, Lebron has proven without question that he can win series, games or any battle on his own. The Celtics were great defensively and they’re well-coached. Cleveland does not have to deal with any of that here. Steve Kerr faced adversity for the first time in his coaching career and made one coaching error after another and the Warriors defense has been non-existent for the most part these entire playoffs but the Rockets without Paul, just kept firing triples and missing instead of attacking the rim. We highly doubt that Cleveland is going to win this series but we have more doubt about the Warriors than ever before and so should you. The Cavs will get extra chance points in every game. That’s huge when taking back this many points. They have the greatest player ever that is hungrier than ever and all they need is for one other guy besides LeBron, just one every game to hit between 23 and 30 points and the Cavs will be uber competitive in this series.

Golden State dodged a big bullet against Houston but we did not like what we saw. The Warriors are not focused enough. For years, all they had to do to win was show up and as a result of that mindset, they have developed a lot of bad habits. They shoot from anywhere, they’re sloppy with the rock, they’re weak defensively and they get badly outscored for stretches in just about every game. There is no switch they can turn on or off to get them out of those horrible habits. Furthermore, we absolutely guarantee that Lebron, Ty Lue and the rest of the Cavs see a crack. They also see the point-spread for this game, which is locker room material because it’s so disrespectful. Do you really want to give a disrespected Lebron this many points? We don’t but more importantly, the points are grossly inflated because the market perception is that this is the greatest NBA dynasty ever when in fact, they are not even close.

Please note: We have leans posted daily on Twitter and you can follow us there for leans, possible late plays or any other info we might have to pass along. 

Open an account today at Pinnacle Sports and take advantage of their -104 style pricing on sides and totals, which is 60% better than other sportsbooks.