Monday's Best NBA Playoff Bet: Go All-in on a Warriors Sweep

The Warriors will march on in the West on Monday 

By Liam Davis

All bets brought to you by Topbet. 

Utah Jazz (+8) vs. Golden State Warriors (-8)

Teams that fall down 3-0 in a best-of-seven series during the NBA playoffs usually respond one of two ways: They quit, and submit to their inevitable early exit, or they fight, clinging to the hope that they can be the first squad to ever successfully erase such a stark deficit.

How will the Utah Jazz respond in Game 4 against the Golden State Warriors?

It's tough to say.

Chances are, though, they're going to be one of the scrappers and clawers. Head coach Quin Snyder does a very good job motivating his troops, and it helps a great deal that they're playing at home. They may also get George Hill back from his big toe injury, which would also help a great deal. That said, with their season in the toilet, the Jazz are more likely to play overly safe, in hopes of planning for the future. We have to look at this game as if Hill isn't going to play.

Not that it matters, of course.

It would be a genuine shock to see the Jazz win this game. And it has nothing to do with a lack of fight. No, it has everything to do with the Warriors. They are just that much friggin' better. They have four All-NBA players in Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry—star power that has become a cliche to talk about, but that remains important to acknowledge.

And why? Because it means the Warriors don't need to be at their best on every front to win games by decisive margins.

Take Game 3 in Utah. The Warriors mustered only seven fast break points, lost the points battle in the paint and shot only 30 percent from three-point range. 

They still won.

It doesn't matter if Gordon Hayward shoots better than 7-of-18 from the floor, because Stephen Curry will probably improve upon his 6-of-20 shooting display. It doesn't matter if Joe Johnson comes back strong after going 3-of-12 from the floor in Game 3, because Klay Thompson will probably leave his 1-of-9 performance behind him.

Everywhere you look, the Warriors have another weapon. On Saturday night, Kevin Durant carried them with 38 points, ensuring they won by double digits. The Jazz forced them to play more of a half-court game and to jack very difficult shots. It was all pointless. The Warriors can win as a one-man show, or while playing a slower style of offense. They can win playing any way the Jazz make them. 

If nothing else, this adaptability, coupled with the value the Warriors are bound to place in the extended rest they'll get if they close this series out on Monday, is enough for us to bet on them sending the Jazz into the offseason with perhaps their worst loss of the series.

The Pick: Golden State Warriors (-8)

Category : Betting Picks

Tag : 2017 NBA Playoffs , Golden State Warriors , nba , utah jazz

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