The NBA Finals are upon us with the dream matchup for the NBA -- LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant. The Heat are a team that you either love or hate. The Thunder are easy to cheer for. Either way, it has the promise of a great series. Vegas is definitely happy. According to Bovada.lv Sportsbook Manager Kevin Bradley, regarding the series, "The Heat making it to the finals is definitely a good sign in the sense that we expect to see close to double the money come in on this series than we would have if the Celtics were in."
The money is coming in at about 65 percent for the Heat and he expects it to be at about 70 percent. So the money says that the Heat will win. The odds are in favor of the Thunder (and that could be why the money is on the Heat). Vegas gives OKC the edge on the odds at 10/17 (-170) to win the championship.
However, the sentiment is different among the players in the league.
Phoenix Suns player Jared Dudley was on ESPN Radio on Monday and he said that 70 to 80 percent of the players in the NBA are rooting for Durant and the Thunder. However, he personally gives the edge to the Heat.
I imagine there is no science to his estimation, but that is interesting. Could it be that the "superteam" that LeBron and his buddies put together is not what the players as a whole want. Perhaps it is the way they have played. Perhaps they are still upset about "The Decision." Perhaps (and more likely), they like watching the Thunder play more because of their style of play.
In a very unscientific estimation, I get the feeling that here locally, there is more support for the Thunder, but then again, former Sun Devil James Harden is one of the stars on that team.
Whoever is the victor, it should hopefully be a great series.