Tip-off: Thursday, 9:00 p.m. ET
Line: Golden State -7.0, Total: 226.5

The Warriors will be looking to strike first with a victory at home in Game 1 on Thursday.

Both Cleveland and Golden State have been extremely impressive on the road to this epic matchup in the NBA Finals. The Cavaliers dropped just one game before getting here, and the Warriors are currently undefeated in the postseason. This series marks the third straight Finals matchup between Cleveland and Golden State. The Warriors won the first one with both PG Kyrie Irving and PF Kevin Love sidelined, but the Cavaliers mounted an epic 3-1 comeback to defeat Golden State in a Game 7 at Oracle Arena last year. The Warriors will be hoping to erase that painful memory with a series victory here, and that starts with this Game 1 in the same building. When these teams met in Oakland during the regular season, the Warriors won 126-91 as a nine-point home favorite. The Cavaliers did, however, win 109-108 as a 3.5-point underdog in the only other meeting between the teams. That game was, however, in Cleveland. The trends in this game favor Golden State, as the Warriors are 39-20 ATS as home favorites of 6.5 to 12 points over the past three seasons. They’re also facing a Cavaliers team that is a miserable 3-12 ATS in road games against Western Conference teams this season. The good thing for both of these teams is that they are both healthy entering Game 1. That means there are no excuses for either team just yet.

The Cavaliers believe they have a shot in any game or series as long as SF LeBron James (32.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 7.0 APG, 2.2 SPG, 1.4 BPG; all player stats in postseason) is on the court. That does, however, mean he must play well. James had one seriously awful game in the series against Boston, and the Cavaliers ended up losing that one. He was just 4-for-13 from the floor with 11 points in that game, and he knows that he can’t allow himself to play like that again. The Warriors are a whole other animal, so James will need to be at his absolute best in order to pull off yet another upset over a historically excellent Golden State team. James will also need help from both Irving (24.5 PPG, 5.6 APG, 1.4 SPG) and Love (17.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG) in this series. One of the reasons the Cavaliers were able to beat the Warriors last year was because Irving outplayed Curry in the series. He’ll need to at least hold his own this year as well. Love, meanwhile, has been playing his best basketball as a Cavalier in this postseason. He is rebounding the ball very well, but he is also knocking down his open threes. That will need to continue against Golden State. One last guy to keep an eye on is C Tristan Thompson (9.2 PPG, 9.3 RPG). Thompson has been a monster for the Cavaliers, as he is rebounding everything on both ends of the floor. His ability to run the floor and do a decent job of staying in front of guards makes him the perfect fit to go against the Warriors’ small-ball lineups. The Cavaliers need him in order to get the job done in Game 1 and this series.

The Warriors were up 3-1 in last year’s finals, but PF Draymond Green (13.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.1 BPG, 1.9 SPG) was suspended for Game 5 and that loss ultimately swung the entire series. Green must stay cool in this series, as he is truly the most valuable player for this Warriors team. He might not be the best, but the Warriors run a lot of their offense through Green and his ability to guard every player on the floor is what makes Golden State a defensive juggernaut. He should see plenty of time guarding LeBron James as well, so he’ll need to be ready to guard and not foul either. The Warriors will then need the absolute best from PG Stephen Curry (28.6 PPG, 5.6 APG, 5.5 RPG, 1.9 SPG), SG Klay Thompson (14.4 PPG, 1.0 SPG), and SF Kevin Durant (25.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.2 BPG). Curry was awful against Cleveland in the Finals last year, and that can’t happen again here. Curry was, however, dealing with some injuries, so he should be a lot better this time around. Thompson should also be better than he has been throughout these playoffs. The Cavs are weakest at the shooting guard position, so Thompson should be a major advantage for the Warriors in this series. And then there’s Durant. Durant wasn’t on the team last year, but it’s an understatement to say that he is a major improvement over Harrison Barnes. Part of the reason the Cavaliers came back last year was because they were able to leave Barnes open and focus on the other Golden State weapons. The presence of a superstar like Durant will drastically change the way these teams play.