It might not come as much surprise, but the Warriors are the heavy favorites to win the NBA Finals over the Raptors.
While Toronto defeated the Bucks in six games (4-2), Las Vegas oddsmakers don't believe they will make it any closer to winning the championship and they don't think the Raptors will pull off an upset.
The SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas opened the Warriors as a -275 favorite in the series, which means the Warriors have a 73 percent chance to win their third straight title, according to Yahoo Sports. However, early bettors thought the odds were too low and the oddsmakers raised it to -310 just a few minutes later.
"(We) took a bet at -275 right away," SuperBook executive director John Murray said in a text message to ESPN.
This marks the fifth consecutive year that Golden State has opened as the favorites. The team was favorites the previous four years, winning three of the past four titles.
Meanwhile, Toronto opened as a +260 underdog in the series at Caesars Sportsbook. ESPN notes over the past eight championships, only the 2017-18 Cavaliers team opened as larger underdogs than the Raptors.
There will be several factors in this series as the Warriors are dealing with injuries to a couple key players, including Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins, that they could potentially get back.
On the other hand, the Raptors overcame odds stacked against them when they went down 2-0 to start the Eastern Conference finals. It should also be noted that Toronto has won both games against Golden State this season with a 131-128 overtime win on Nov. 29 and then again Dec. 12 with a 113-93 victory.
Game 1 of the championship series is slated to tip off Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.
