It’s pretty rare that a No. 6 seed is favored vs. a No. 3 seed in the NBA playoffs, but that’s the case in the upcoming series between the Warriors and Kings. As a matter of fact, the Warriors are pretty heavy favorites, coming in at -270 (a $270 bet would win $100) to win the series according to Bovada.
It’s a number that is a bit shocking considering the Kings have been the better team all season, and also have home court advantage vs. one of the worst road teams in the NBA. But Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have four titles and are still the reigning champs. The Kings meanwhile just ended the longest playoff drought in the NBA at 16 years. As the three seed, it feels like the team with the least amount of experience has a lot of pressure to win.
The Warriors recently blew out the Kings in Sacramento, 119-97, last weekend, but that was with Sacramento sitting Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox. The Warriors won the season series 3-1, falling only in an early-season game on Nov. 13, 122-115.
Though we are still waiting on the play-in results, the odds for the three other series are set. The heaviest favorites are the Philadelphia 76ers (-900) over the Brooklyn Nets (+575) and then the Phoenix Suns (-550) over the Los Angeles Clippers (+390). The tightest odds are the Cavaliers (-210) vs. the New York Knicks (+175), in a series between two young teams looking to make a run.
The Warriors open vs. the Kings on Saturday at 12:30 PM.