The line for tonight's Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors has taken one heck of a ride.
After Golden State opened as a 4.5-point favorite on Wednesday, big bets immediately landed on the Warriors, pushing the point spread up to a consensus of -5.5 across the market.
Early Thursday afternoon, we learned that Klay Thompson would be back for Game 4, coinciding with the line movement to that point.
However, a few hours later, news broke that Kevin Durant is still not ready return and will not be in action tonight.
This sent the Raptors-Warriors Game 4 betting line on the move again, this time down to Golden State -4.5 to account for Durant's absence. Since the drop to 4.5, the spread has settled in without any further movement.
At that point, professional bettors turned their attention to the over/under for Thursday night, forcing oddsmakers to make their first major adjustments to the Game 4 total.
Raptors-Warriors Game 4 Sharp Report
This over/under opened at a consensus of 216 across the market and bettors are overwhelmingly playing the over. Seventy-four percent of bets have landed on this side of the total, yet the real money splits are much more balanced.
While just 26% of all tickets have hit the under, they make up 46% of the money wagered on the total.
In addition, that 46% also comes from sharps, as evidenced by Sports Insights' Bet Signals — which track and report professional betting action in real-time.
Behind two Reverse Line Moves triggered on the under, oddsmakers were forced to drop the total from 216.5 to 215, setting up a classic case of casual bettors playing the over, while sharps are aligned on the under.
