After Warriors’ series-saving win in Game 5 of the NBA Finals Sunday, nobody would have been more relieved than PointsBet. Nobody besides the Warriors themselves, that is.
A fourth win for the rampant Raptors in this seven-game series would have wrapped up their first NBA title. It would also have ended Golden City Warriors’ hopes of a third consecutive NBA title and a fourth in five years.
In squeezing home 106 to 105, the Warriors gave themselves the chance of squaring the series at 3-all in game six on Friday.
And money-wise it may have saved PointsBet a small fortune.
Why so? Well, if you remember, a while back, the invading Australian sportsbook bravely announced it was paying out on all futures bets backing the Warriors. PointsBet were that certain Golden City would win the series. And this was even before the Finals had begun.
The Warriors at that time were the firm favorites so the number of bets paid prematurely by PointsBet would have been substantial.
If the Warriors go on to beat Toronto in the next two games and hold on to the title, PointsBet’s gamble would have been well worthwhile.
They would have scored a host of brownie points with their punters. They will also have created a greater awareness of their presence in the New Jersey sportsbook market.
An NBA Final series loss for Warriors will cost PointsBet plenty
They’ll still be a winner on these two counts if they lose, but it will cost them a lot more. It could, perhaps, be double as much. For now, they will also have to make payouts on all winning tickets on the Raptors as well.
Warriors remain PointsBet favorites for Game 6 on Friday – despite the fact that injured king-pin Kevin Durant is unlikely to play. PointsBet’s money line odds on them winning were -145 as against +125 for the Raptors on Wednesday. FanDuel also saw the Warriors as being Game 6 winners with odds of -152 as against +130.
It’s the Toronto Raptors, however, who are most strongly favored by New Jersey’s sportsbooks to win the 7-game series. A cross section of money-line odds on this futures bet on Wednesday were as follows:
PointsBet: Raptors -334, Warriors +266
FanDuel: Raptors -320, Warriors +230
888sport: Raptors -286, Warriors +230
William Hill: Raptors -320, Warriors +260
NJ’s sportsbooks are also in agreement as to whom the favorite is for the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award. To all of them, it’s a two-man race between the favorite Kawhi Leonard of the Raptors and Stephen Curry of the Warriors.
Here were some of the odds on offer on Wednesday:
PointsBet: Leonard -304, Curry +240
FanDuel: Leonard -323, Curry +240
888Sport: Leonard -286, Curry +230
William Hill: -334, Curry +260
Home court advantage may be one of the major factors in the Raptors favor if the series goes to Game 7 at 3-all.
In this case, it will be played at Scotiabank Arena, the Toronto home of the Raptors, on Monday, June 17.
