Money from professional bettors has had a major influence on all three games of the 2019 NBA Finals. In Games 1 and 2, sharps hit Toronto early and often, driving the Raptors from short underdogs to small favorites in each matchup.
In both instances the money was extremely one-sided backing Toronto.
In early Game 3 betting, wiseguys again jumped on the opening line, but this time backed the Warriors, pushing the line from Golden State -5.5 to -6.
However, unlike the previous two games of the NBA Finals, the line for Game 3 attracted buyback from sharp bettors, forcing oddsmakers to adjust the point spread again this morning.
As recently as Monday afternoon, a small majority of bettors were laying the points with Golden State. But less than 24 hours later, those percentages have flipped as 59% of bets and 61% of dollars wagered are now on the Raptors.
And it's not only money from casual bettors flowing on Toronto.
Sports Insights' Bet Signals — which track and report professional betting action in real-time — triggered a Steam Move on Raptors +6 at 9:53 a.m. ET Tuesday, highlighting the moment that sharps bought back the underdogs.
And sharps have continued to back the Raptors as the line has shortened, with multiple Steam Moves detected at +5.5 and +5 on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. Then, with the game less than two hours away from tip, at 7:07 p.m. ET, pros again jumped on Toronto at +4.5, causing market-wide movement down to +4.
While it's reasonable to assume that Klay Thompson's murky injury status could be affecting this line, Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne's report that Warriors team officials want Thompson to sit out Game 3 didn't drop until 5:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
