The Warriors went 44-38 and secured the #6 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The defending champions were two different teams in the regular season. There s the dominant team at home at the Chase Center in downtown San Francisco that won 33 games and lost just eight. Then there s the dreadful road team that struggled away from home. Out of all 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs, the Warriors had the worst road record at 11-30.
The Warriors dropped the first two games of the series, but they return home for Games 3 and 4 for a chance to tie up the series.
Oddsmakers installed the Warriors as -7 favorites at home in Game 3. The line dropped to -5.5 after the NBA suspended Green.
When the regular season ended, the Warriors were +900 , and the Kings were +8000 odds at DraftKings. After the Kings jumped out to a 2-0 lead, they saw their championship odds narrow to +2800. Meanwhile, the Warriors slipped to +1500 odds to win back-to-back championships.
In Western Conference championship futures, the Warriors are now +650 odds to win consecutive conference titles. The Kings are +850 odds to win their first-ever Western Conference crown.
The Kings are now the betting favorite to win the first-round playoff series at -170 odds, and the Warriors are the underdog at +140. Before the playoffs tipped off, the Warriors were -250 odds to defeat the Kings. Even though the Kings were the #3 seed, they were an underdog at +225 odds to beat the Warriors.
