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The Celtics blew out the Heat on Monday. However, Marcus Smart's absence does not bode well for Boston if they meet the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals.
Jay Williams, on ESPN's "Keyshawn, JWill & Max," spoke about who he believes has the best shot to win against the Warriors, should they meet in the NBA finals:
"If Boston were completely healthy, I would probably give them the best chance to beat the Warriors because of the fire-power that they have offensively, because of Marcus Smart guarding the likes of a Stephen Curry, because of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, those long wings going against Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole.
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"I worry about the Celtics and I worry about Marcus Smart... the injury to him... the injuries worry me, which probably makes me consider the Golden State Warriors the favorite right now."
Marcus Smart rolled his ankle in Game 3, but was able to return. It should be considered that adrenaline might have carried him through that game, because he was rested for Game 4.
Golden State Warriors' updated odds to win the NBA championship
According to FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR (Robust Algorithm [using] Player Tracking [and] On/Off Ratings), the Golden State Warriors are now only behind the Celtics to win the NBA championship.
As discussed in an article we've written before, the Golden State Warriors were dead-last to win the NBA championship, as predicted by RAPTOR.
However, in less than a week, the scales have tipped to favor the Golden State Warriors. Their chances of winning the NBA championship rose to 25% from 9% last week.
The Warriors have dominated in the Western Conference finals. Along with some inconsistencies and injuries in the Celtics camp, more parity has been introduced within the final four. The Celtics have fallen from 62% to 54% to win it all.
The Miami Heat have now fallen to third amongst all the teams left in the playoffs, but still have a considerable chance at 21%.
Caesar's sports book has remained stagnant in terms of predicting the winner. This surprisingly speaks to Vegas' reliability when it comes to making predictions over heavy statistical machinery.
As of May 15, the picture Caesars projected looked like this:
Since May 15, Caesars have only added to their convictions, with the latest odds being:
Golden State is in a perfect spot to continue their dynasty, but the Boston Celtics seem to be their biggest roadblock of the season.
