The NBA Finals brings us a beyond-pivotal Game 3 on Wednesday night. Covers talks in regards to the matchup with Chris Andrews, director of the South Point sportsbook south of the Las Vegas Strip; Tony Miller, who heads up the Golden Nugget book in downtown Las Vegas; and Greg Sindall, senior oddsmaker for online site SportsInteraction.Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers – Open: Cavaliers -1; Move: Pick ‘em

Golden State ripped Cleveland 104-99 in Game 1, easily cashing as a 6-point home favorite. So the oddsmakers upped the fee to -6.5 for Game 2 in Oakland, and the soldiers battered the Cavaliers 110-77 to take a 2-0 lead within the best-of-7 series. So the Cavs, who won’t have Kevin Love tonight (concussion) are in a must-win situation. Bettors try to determine if that suggests Cleveland merits support.

“We opened the Cavs -1, then went the entire method to Warriors -1,” Andrews said, noting Golden State money forced the 2-point swing. “Now, we’re back at pick.”

Andrews said other shops have returned to Cavs -1 and even -1.5, but he’s not ready for that move.

“We haven’t gotten bet yet at pick ‘em. I’m not gonna move until somebody bets me,” he said.

Where the South Point is seeing strong Cleveland money is at the first half.

“I got bet pretty good at the Cavs. I’ve got them -1.5, so that’s more or less strange,” he said, adding it sounds as if bettors expect no less than a powerful start from the desperate Cavs. “That’s it exactly. If they’re gonna win anything, it’s probably gonna be the primary half.”

Meanwhile, the Golden Nugget opened at pick on Monday, moved to Golden State -1 on Tuesday and went back to select earlier today.

“We’ve got good two-way action right now, with ticket count slightly higher at the Warriors,” Miller said. “I expect money will come afterward Cleveland. Because the public knows, this can be a do-or-die game for the Cavs.”

SportsInteraction has seen an abundance of back-and-forth movement.

“This line was bouncing around quite a bit,” said Sindall, whose shop opened the Cavs at -1.5. “We took some early Golden State money and taken that all the way down to -1, after which moved again to a pick. We kept taking action on Golden State, so we moved the road to Warriors -1.

“We quickly took action at the Cavs at +1 and taken it back to a pick and continued to peer Cleveland money, so we moved it out again to Cleveland -1, where we now stand. With the best way this line have been bouncing around, I WOULDN'T be surprised to peer it move again. I WILL BE ABLE TO see this closing as a pick.”

After both Games 1 and a couple of went low, bettors are apparently on board with the under for Game 3, in addition. On the South Point and the Golden Nugget, the full opened at 206.5 but is now at 205. SportsInteraction opened at 207 and in addition needed to drop down.

“We quickly dropped it to 206.5,” Sindall said. “Then we took some sharp money at the under and dropped the road to 205 where we currently stand. Since that move, though, we’ve been seeing some public money are available on over 205.”

Patrick Everson is a Las Vegas-based senior writer for Covers. Follow him on Twitter: @Covers Vegas.

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