{"id":105837,"date":"2019-05-26T18:33:29","date_gmt":"2019-05-27T01:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=105837"},"modified":"2019-05-26T18:33:29","modified_gmt":"2019-05-27T01:33:29","slug":"raptors-rally-to-secure-first-appearance-in-nba-finals-will-face-favored-warriors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/raptors-rally-to-secure-first-appearance-in-nba-finals-will-face-favored-warriors\/","title":{"rendered":"Raptors Rally to Secure First Appearance in NBA Finals, Will Face Favored Warriors Starting Thursday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once again, Toronto needed a rally, but once again the Raptors got it. After beating Milwaukee 100-94 Saturday, they earned the franchise’s first trip to the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Toronto Raptors won the first Eastern Conference title in the team’s 24-year history Saturday night when they beat the Milwaukee Bucks 100-94. The Raptors advance to the NBA Finals, which start Thursday, to face the Golden State Warriors. (Image: Toronto Raptors\/NBA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After falling 0-2 to start the Eastern Conference finals, Toronto had odds of +650 from DraftKings<\/a> to win it. They reeled off four straight wins against Milwaukee to do that. In Saturday’s Game 6, they used a 26-3 second-half run to take control of the game.<\/p>\n

The Raptors will face Golden State in the Finals and hold home-court advantage in the series. Currently, some oddsmakers have them as a slight favorite over the Warriors for Game 1.<\/p>\n

The initial lines Saturday night put the Warriors as a 1-point favorite. However, throughout Sunday morning and afternoon, some of the books transitioned from Golden State being a slight favorite to the Raptors giving a point.<\/p>\n

Atlantis, MGM, and FanDuel listed the hosts as the one-point favorite. Caesars, CG Technology, Golden Nugget, SouthPoint, Stations, Treasure Island, Westgate SuperBook, William Hill, and Wyn Resorts listed the game as even.<\/p>\n

The game will tip off Thursday night at 9 pm ET. ABC will broadcast the game.<\/p>\n

Warriors Favored in Series<\/h2>\n

While there\u2019s uncertainty about the first game, the books still consider the upstart Raptors a series underdog against a Warriors team seeking their third straight NBA title and fourth in five seasons.<\/p>\n

\n

FanDuel lists the Warriors as -350 favorites to win the best-of-seven series, giving the Raptors +220 odds. PointsBet offers the Warriors at -304 and the Raptors at +220. DraftKings, meanwhile, gives the Warriors -315 odds to the Raptors +250. As of Sunday, the SuperBook offers the Warriors at -300, while the Raptors are at +240.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

According to Caesars Palace, oddsmakers there expect the Warriors to win in six games, as they offer +250 odds on that series prop bet. The Warriors in five gets +350 odds, while a Golden State sweep and a seven-game victory both get +450.<\/p>\n

Caesars offers the Raptors in seven at +550, while a Raptors sweep would garner +2500.<\/p>\n

Finals matchup: Raptors vs. Warriors<\/h2>\n

This year\u2019s NBA Finals appears to be a matchup of offense versus defense. The Warriors enter the finals averaging a playoff-best 117.3 points per game. The Raptors defense, though, has allowed just 99.6 a game. That ranks second behind only the Indiana Pacers, who were eliminated in the first round.<\/p>\n

The Raptors are led by Kawhi Leonard<\/a>, who was traded to Toronto in the offseason from San Antonio. Some say Leonard, who won a ring with the Spurs five years ago, is becoming the league’s best player. His playoff stats seem to make a compelling argument.<\/p>\n

In 18 postseason games this year, he\u2019s averaging 31.2 points and 8.8 rebounds a game. In the clincher against Milwaukee, Leonard posted 27 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. That included a key offensive rebound off a missed free throw with 4.5 seconds to secure the Raptors first finals berth.<\/p>\n

I just want to win,\u201d <\/strong>Leonard said after Saturday’s win. \u201cI don\u2019t care about being the best player. I want to be the best team. I\u2019ve always said that.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Warriors still are missing both DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Durant, although it\u2019s possible both might return at some point in the series. However, ever since Durant went down with a strained calf late in Game 5 of the Houston series, the Warriors have reeled off five straight wins.<\/p>\n

In those five games, all wins, Steph Curry has averaged 35.8 points a game for the Warriors and shot nearly 42 percent from the 3-point arc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once again, Toronto needed a rally, but once again the Raptors got it. After beating Milwaukee 100-94 Saturday, they earned the franchise’s first trip to the NBA Finals. After falling 0-2 to start the Eastern Conference finals, Toronto had odds of +650 from DraftKings to win it. They reeled off four straight wins against Milwaukee […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":105838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRaptors Rally to Secure First Appearance in NBA Finals, Will Face Favored Warriors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Once a big underdog against Milwaukee, the Raptors won four straight to reach the NBA Finals, where they'll face the Warriors.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Raptors Rally to Secure First Appearance in NBA Finals, Will Face Favored Warriors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Once a big underdog against Milwaukee, the Raptors won four straight to reach the NBA 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