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2016-17 NBA Finals Expert Picks and Predictions

2016-17 NBA Finals Expert Picks and Predictions

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The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers have met in the NBA Finals two years running. Will we get to witness the rubber match in the 2017 NBA Finals? To answer such a pressing question, let’s turn to some of the top NBA experts and see which teams they have picked to meet in the Finals ahead of the 2016-2017 NBA regular season.


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2016-17 NBA Finals Expert Picks

NBA.com/Turner Sports

EXPERT EAST CHAMPION WEST CHAMPION NBA CHAMPION
David Aldridge Cavs Warriors Warriors
Greg Anthony Cavs Warriors Warriors
Steve Aschburner Cavs Warriors Cavs
Fran Blinebury Cavs Warriors Warriors
Rick Fox Cavs Warriors Warriors
Scott Howard-Cooper Cavs Warriors Warriors
Stu Jackson Cavs Warriors Warriors
Reggie Miller Cavs Warriors Warriors
Shaun Powell Cavs Warriors Warriors
John Schumann Cavs Warriors Warriors
Sekou Smith Cavs Warriors Cavs
Steve Smith Cavs Warriors Warriors
Isiah Thomas Cavs Spurs Cavs
Ian Thomsen Cavs Clippers Cavs
Lang Whitaker Cavs Warriors Warriors

The combined forces of NBA.com and Turner Sports – that’s 15 expert writers, reporters and TV analysts in total – came up with their NBA Finals picks. All 15 were unanimous in picking the defending champion Cavaliers to come out of the East for the third year in a row. The odds certainly agree with that pick, as the Cavs are -330 favorites to win the conference.

Meanwhile, the Warriors were not a unanimous pick despite being a bigger favorite at -350 to win the West. Isiah Thomas and Ian Thomsen see the Spurs and Clippers to come out on top. The Clips are currently +1,400 to win the West, so a simple $10 bet would yield $140.

In terms of the NBA title, though, it’s just the Warriors and Cavs. Golden State got the significant 11-4 edge in votes among the 15 experts.

USA Today

EXPERT EAST CHAMPION WEST CHAMPION NBA CHAMPION
Sam Amick Cavs Warriors Warriors
Paul Coro Cavs Warriors Warriors
Vince Ellis Cavs Warriors Cavs
AJ Neuharth-Keusch Cavs Warriors Warriors
Michael Singer Cavs Warriors Warriors
Kevin Spain Cavs Warriors Cavs
Jeff Zillgitt Cavs Warriors Warriors

USA Today got its band of seven NBA experts together for their Finals picks, and the result was pretty straightfoward. Every single one of them went with a Cavs-Warriors final. Meanwhile, the Warriors also won out in terms of the Finals picks, 5-2.

CBS Sports

EXPERT EAST CHAMPION WEST CHAMPION NBA CHAMPION
Bill Reiter Cavs Warriors Warriors
Ethan Skolnick Cavs Warriors Warriors
Matt Moore Cavs Warriors Warriors
James Herbert Cavs Warriors Warriors
Ananth Pandian Cavs Warriors Cavs

Much like USA Today, all five of CBSSports.com’s NBA writers went with the Cavs and Warriors to complete their trilogy this season. And once again, the majority like the Warriors to come out on top in the rubber match.

NBA GMs Poll

EAST CHAMPION WEST CHAMPION NBA CHAMPION
Cavs – 29 votes
Celtics – 1 vote
Warriors – 29 votes
Spurs – 1 vote
Warriors – 21 votes
Cavs – 9 votes

NBA general managers are pretty knowledgeable about basketball – for the most part. And in the annual poll conducted by NBA.com, the GMs were near-unanimous with their picks of the Warriors and Cavs as well.

The two teams got 29 of the 30 votes to win their respective conferences, and only reason it wasn’t unanimous was because GMs aren’t allowed to pick their own teams. The Celtics and Spurs were the two teams who got the other vote in the East and West, respectively. Incidentally, Boston (+700) and San Antonio (+425) are also the closest contenders to Golden State and Cleveland to win their respective conferences, according to the odds.

And in terms of the Finals, the Warriors got 69 percent of the votes (roughly 21 of 30) to reclaim their title, while the Cavs got the remaining 9 votes.

Create a betting account now and make your picks for the 2017 NBA Finals with America’s top online sportsbook.

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Brad
Written by Brad

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