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.
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