In case our NBA-littered homepage hasn't given it away, or you've decided to just stop following sports over the past few days, I'll fill you in on the fact that the NBA Finals start tonight (9 p.m. ET, ABC).
Unlike most NBA matchups which see lines posted the night before the game, the line for Game 1 has now been available for four days, giving bettors — both sharp and square — plenty of time to get their money down, and in this case cause a fairly significant adjustment to the point spread.
>> All odds as of 1:30 p.m. ET. Download The Action Network App to get real-time NBA odds and track your bets.
When sportsbooks opened this line at Warriors -1 on Sunday, the public was quick to jump all over the defending champs.
As PJ Walsh noted earlier this week, 82% of bettors were behind Golden State as of Tuesday morning. Despite that, the line jumped the fence to favor the Raptors by one point as sharps were all over the home team.
As of Thursday afternoon, it's been more of the same.
The Warriors' backing is down a bit, but they still hold a heavy majority of tickets at 73%. This line, however, has continued to move toward the Raptors, who are now listed at a consensus of -1.5.
Given that this is an NBA Finals game, the handle will be big, so with the heavy dose of Warriors action — the 73% backing has accounted for 78% of money — a move toward Toronto should take some serious convincing from sharp bettors.
Sure enough, Sports Insights Bet Signals have revealed 13 instances of professional money hitting the Raps at lines ranging from +1.5 to -1, causing the most recent move to -1.5. Only three times has a signal been triggered on Golden State.
There's still plenty of time left before this one actually tips off, and with a moving line always comes the chance for buyback — in this case on the Warriors.
But given the sharp action that hit Toronto at -1, it would seem unlikely that this line makes its way back to favoring the champs.
