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Celtics vs. Warriors Game 1 Betting Odds, Picks, Predictions – June 2nd

<p>AP Photos</p>

AP Photos

OddsJam’s NBA experts take you through the betting odds, picks, and predictions for Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors from the Chase Center in San Francisco on Thursday June 2nd at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Celtics vs Warriors Game 1 Odds

TeamOdds
Celtics Moneyline+145
Warriors Moneyline-162
Celtics Win Percentage39.76%
Warriors Win Percentage60.24%
Celtics Spread+3.5
Warriors Spread-3.5
Celtics-Warriors Over / Under212.5
game Date & TimeJune 2nd, 9:00 p.m. ET
Odds via OddsJam Perfect Line

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Celtics vs. Warriors Game 1 Betting Preview

The pinnacle of basketball has arrived. Styles make fights, and this one assembles a competitive clash of physicality with unique skill sets. Both teams displayed places of dominance and took completely different roads to get to this destination.

The Golden State Warriors blasted out of the gate, with an 18-2 record and a renewed focus from an old core of players. They got an infusion of young star power in Jordan Poole and a career-best season from Andrew Wiggins.

Steph Curry was masterful all year as the engine that drives the unorthodox heavy motion offense, and Draymond Green returned to looking like the best defensive player in basketball. They would ride the hot start to the 3 seed in the conference and enter the playoffs as a heavy finals favorite, boasting a 12-4 record so far in the postseason, having yet to play an elimination game or lose at home.

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The Boston Celtics under a new head coach Ime Udoka started slow, with their physicality and toughness being questioned in every other press conference. They would be 21-21 on January 12th, and from that point on be the best team in basketball record-wise.

Udoka started the bouncy young center in Robert Williams next to Al Horford, solidifying what would become an immoveable defensive machine. They traded away Dennis Schroder and moved Marcus Smart into the main guard spot.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown became synergistic on offense and the team went fully into a switch everything terror on defense. The Celtics would sweep the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving Nets, and had two straight Game 7’s against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat.

Boston Celtics

The matchup that will define these finals will be the Celtic’s switchy long rangy defenders vs. the Warrior’s constant motion offense. The Boston Celtics had the best defense in the league to finish the season, putting up just a 106.2 defensive rating. It got even stingier in the postseason at 105.1. They have yet to play a team as coordinated and purposeful with their actions as the Warriors, though.

The Miami Heat resemble some of the similar constant motion principles, but nothing to the degree of pressure that Steph Curry and Klay Thompson will put on you. Would expect to see the defensive player of the year Marcus Smart get the Curry matchup, with Brown chasing Thompson.

The Celtics were reluctant at times to switch Horford on to Jimmy Butler and we should expect Curry to hunt that matchup. It will be interesting to see how the Celtics approach the amount of help to send on Curry’s screen actions.

While the Celtics had the best defense in the league, the Warriors were right there at number two. Who makes who blink first to go small will be a test in the series. The Warriors have yet to really unleash their “death” lineup with Green at center for long stretches. Boston can go with Grant Williams at the center to undersize and space the floor.

Kevon Looney has played big minutes right along with their defensive star and has been fantastic protecting the rim. The Celtics without a prototypical point guard have lapses in offensive creation and can fall into stagnant play in the half-court.

Tatum and Brown have a tendency to over-dribble while taking difficult contested shots and Smart has offensive possessions that quickly become adventurous. That’s a recipe for disaster against this high-powered Warriors offense that will crush you in transition if you turn the ball over.

Luka Doncic relentlessly picked on Poole and Curry in the last series, and expect Tatum and Brown to follow a similar script. Their offensive attack ability made sharpshooter Duncan Robinson almost unplayable while attacking Tyler Herro and Max Strus almost every time down.

Physically attacking the Warrior’s guards is crucial for the Celtics to have a chance at slowing down this offense. Then it boils down to if the others can hit open shots for Boston. The jump shooting of Horford and Grant Williams will be key to forcing Looney and Draymond to venture outside the painted area. That creates driving lanes for the wing stars to work.

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Golden State Warriors

The Warriors got a taste of a big scoring type in Doncic, but the Celtics put forth a different type of challenge, two athletic wings that put constant pressure on defenses and can poke holes in a system. We expect Wiggins to get the Tatum matchup, and stay physical with hounding full pressure defense similar to how the Warriors approached Doncic.

The talent around Tatum is much different than Dallas had surrounding Luka, with much more big athletic playmakers for him to go to. Brown and Tatum have struck a nice balance on aggressiveness. It’s vital for the Warriors to keep them out of the paint and into long jump shots.

Boston loves to run their offense through Horford at the top of the key, flowing actions into dribble hand-offs and cuts for their wings. A big X factor for the series is if the Warriors stay big as they’ve done in the playoffs, or elect to go small with Green at the center.

Tatum and Brown are too good for a straight “drop coverage” scheme, inevitably forcing Looney to step up higher to the level of the screen. This has a domino effect on foul trouble and open looks for the Boston shooters.

Wiggins and Poole have been essential in this final run, and the Warriors will need them again to take home the trophy. Wiggins had an incredible two-way impact in the Dallas series, picking up Doncic full court while going right at him on the offensive end.

A similar matchup to hunt doesn’t really exist on the Celtics. How he and Poole manufacture points in this series will be vital. The Celtics will switch almost all the actions and not allow Curry to play in isolation. The other guys on Golden State need to be ready to fire.

Celtics vs. Warriors Game 1 Betting Pick: Warriors -3.5 | -110 at Caesars Sportsbook

(I would bet this up to GSW -6.0)

The Celtics just returned from a grueling physical 7-game series against the Miami Heat, while the Warriors got a chance to rest up from a 5 game series.. I have Golden State taking Game 1 at home to kick off this matchup.

Celtics vs. Warriors Game 1 Prediction

The Warriors will take Game 1 of this series with a score of 110-103.

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