Could 2022 be the year that the Golden State Warriors return to the NBA Finals? Between 2015 and 2019, a bet on the Warriors reaching the NBA Finals was always a winning one. They won the title in 2015, 2017 and 2018 and on each occasion defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers. Only a win for the Cavaliers in 2016 prevented an incredible four-timer.
Betting on the Warriors making another NBA Finals in 2019 again produced a profit. This time, though, they lost to the Toronto Raptors. No one could have predicted what was going to happen in the following season, though.
Golden State was anything, but in the 2020 NBA season. 2018/19 had seen them win the Western Conference Pacific Division with 57 regular season wins. Who’d have imagined that the 2019/20 season would see them finish bottom of the Pacific Division with 15 wins and 50 losses.
It wasn’t just a case of finishing bottom of the Pacific Division. The Warriors were bottom of the entire Western Conference, four wins behind the Minnesota Timberwolves. You can bet that when they moved to Chase Center in San Francisco, fans didn’t expect to see the Warriors win just eight home games.
Definitely going to have a good year in 2022 will be those gambling in New York state. Mobile sports betting is finally going to be legal with a host of online sportsbooks. There will be plenty of betting promotions to enjoy when betting on top sports, such as the NBA.
All good things must come to an end. Squads can’t keep going forever and that’s what happened to the Warriors. Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala both departed for Brooklyn and Memphis, respectively. Picking up injuries to players, such as Klay Thompson (out all season) and Stephen Curry (just five games played), added to their woes.
Losing 16 of the first 20 games saw their season virtually written off early on. Anyone betting on another NBA success were to be severely disappointed.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and getting the Warriors back into title contention didn’t happen overnight. Last season needed massive improvement on the previous disaster. Bets on regaining previous glories were again losing one, though. A 39-33 season record was a big step in the right direction with 25 home victories.
Stephen Curry returned from injury and averaged 32 points a game. That helped the Warriors move to the fourth place in the Pacific Division and eighth overall in the Western Conference. They were in the Play-In tournament, but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies.
And so, we come to the current NBA season and a resurgence in the form of the Warriors. Sportsbooks odds being offered on Golden State make much better reading now. They are second favorites behind Brooklyn to win the NBA Title and bookies believe they will win not just the Pacific Division, but the Western Conference too.
It’s going to be a tough battle to see those bets be winning ones. After the games played on December 28, the Warriors top the Pacific Division with a 27-7 season record. Hot on their heels though are the Phoenix Suns on 26-7 with the other three teams in the division at least ten wins behind them.
The Warriors won two matches against the Suns in December. A dominating 118-96 home win on the 3rd was followed by the perfect Christmas present. December 25 saw the Warriors go to Phoenix and win by nine points. Two vital successes that have seen their odds strengthen even more at sportsbooks.
Stephen Curry is on top of the betting market to be the Regular Season MVP. It’s easy to see why that is the case. Curry has been in top form this season, especially when going for those crucial three-pointers. He scored five in the December 14 win over the New York Knicks, making him the record holder for most three-pointers. He went on to become the first player to score 3,000 three-pointers.
You can spot those who have been betting on Curry to be the top scorer in the latest Warriors match. They’re the ones counting their winnings because he’s achieved that feat in seven of their last eight matches. No one is going to forget the 46 points he scored against Memphis on December 23.
Also pretty happy were those who went to see the Warriors play at home in November. Those still having nightmares over that first season at Chase Center saw Golden State win all nine of their home games in the penultimate month of the year.
There’s a lot of hard work to be done in the coming months. However, the Warriors are back in a competitive position. Could the glory days be on their way back to the Golden State?
