The 2016 NBA Finals featuring the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers commences Thursday night in Oakland at Oracle Arena under the idea that this matchup will produce one of the most most outrageous television and radio ratings the game has ever enjoyed.

That’s all fine and dandy for the networks and frequencies set to rake in massive profits from this star-studded affair, but our concern lies with how we will generate some additional revenue from the Steph Curry-LeBron James showdown.

As it relates to the over/under, there are three rules it's important to understand before attacking the 2016 NBA Finals. 

RULE 1: Know your NBA officials

This rule applies to every of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, but today we’re focusing solely at the Association.  I can’t express enough how imperative it's to spot both the officials working each respective game in addition to the tendencies demonstrated by those officials inside the process the 2015-2016 NBA season.

Here’s a rundown of the 12 officials scheduled to work the 2016 NBA Finals, with their O/U records for the 2015-2016 NBA season:

Tony Brothers: 33-37Mike Callahan: 35-40James Capers: 35-31Danny Crawford: 31-40Marc Davis: 40-37Scott Foster: 38-34Ed Malloy: 28-35Ken Mauer: 45-27Monty McCutchen: 35-41Jason Phillips: 32-40Derrick Stafford: 30-37Zach Zarba: 45-30

You’ll notice that the NBA is trotting out a beautiful balanced group here when it comes to 2015-2016 NBA totals, with seven of the 12 officials generally siding toward the under while the opposite five lean to the over.

RULE 2: Know your teams

What good is an understanding of the tendencies of every NBA official if we don’t additionally study the tendencies of every NBA team playing for the title?

*Note: The OVER is listed first in all the below records.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

Regular season: 45-36-1 overall, 22-18-1 at home, 23-18 at the roadPlayoffs: 7-11 overall, 4-7 at home, 3-4 at the roadTrends: The UNDER is 4-1 in Golden State’s last five playoff games and 6-2 in Golden State’s last eight playoff games. In addition, the UNDER is 5-0 in Golden State’s last five games when playing on two days of rest.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

Regular season: 41-41 overall, 22-19 at home, 19-22 at the roadPlayoffs: 7-8 overall, 3-4 at home, 4-4 at the roadTrends: The UNDER has hit in four of Cleveland’s last six playoff games.  In addition, the UNDER is 7-2 in Cleveland’s last nine games when playing on three or more days of rest.

HEAD TO MOVE THIS SEASON

12/25/15: Golden State 89 vs. Cleveland 83 (UNDER 207)01/18/16: Golden State 132 at Cleveland 98 (OVER 210)06/02/16: Golden State 104 vs. Cleveland 89 (UNDER (211)

PACE

*Pace is defined because the choice of possessions a team uses per game.  More possessions result in more shots, more shots result in more points.  It’s so simple as that.

Golden State: 101.6 (second in NBA)Cleveland: 95.5 (28th in NBA)

RULE 3: Know your history

As the old adage goes, “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to copy it.”

Yes, the sport of professional basketball has changed during the last ten years and yes, there’s probably little or no the 2009 NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Magic can teach us because it relates to this year’s showdown between the soldiers and the Cavaliers.  But an in depth and thorough historical analysis sometimes has some way of unearthing trends and patterns that may be useful in our efforts to achieve an edge over the bookmakers. 

You’ll notice below that we’ve compiled an in depth analysis of the last ten NBA Finals with reference to overs and unders.  Here’s a snappy breakdown of ways to interpret the next data:

Record: O/U record for the Finals, with the over listed firstAT: The common O/U for the FinalsAS: The common total score for the FinalsHT: The top O/U for the FinalsLT: The bottom O/U for the Finals

Warriors/Cavaliers (2015): 2-3-1, 197 AT vs. 194.2 AS, HT: 203.5, LT: 193.5Spurs/Heat (2014): 2-3, 197 AT vs. 197.2 AS, HT: 198.5, LT: 195Heat/Spurs (2013): 4-3, 189 AT vs. 194.7 AS, HT: 192, LT: 186Heat/Thunder (2012): 3-1-1, 194 AT vs. 200.0 AS, HT: 196, LT: 195Mavericks/Heat (2011): 2-3-1, 187 AT vs. 187.0 AS, HT: 188.5, LT: 184.5Lakers/Celtics (2010): 1-5-1, 190 AT vs. 177.7 AS, HT: 192.5, LT: 186Lakers/Magic (2009): 1-4, 201 AT vs. 191.8 AS, HT: 205.5, LT: 198Celtics/Lakers (2008): 3-3, 192 AT vs. 196.0 AS, HT: 195.5, LT: 191.5Spurs/Cavaliers (2007): 1-3, 178 AT vs. 167.0 AS, HT: 179.5, LT: 175.5Heat/Mavericks (2006): 2-4, 189 AT vs. 184.6 AS, HT: 194, LT: 187

The first item worth noting this is that over the 57 total games played over the past ten NBA Finals, the under has gone 32-21-4, that is good for a winning percentage of 60.3 percent.  Additionally, bear in mind that for those who would have blindly bet the under in each NBA Finals matchup during the last ten years, you might have turned a profit in seven of these ten seasons.  Not a foul option to close out a certified basketball season, right?

Notice the rest? Here’s a touch: This Golden State-Cleveland matchup has us in unchartered waters.  Of the 57 NBA Finals games played during the last ten seasons, not one has featured a complete higher than 205.5.  Why is that significant? Well, Thursday night’s Game 1 at Oracle Arena opened with a complete of 209 and is currently sitting at 209.5.  Additionally, you’ll must return to March 30 in Utah (25 games) to search out the last time the soldiers took the court with a closing total of lower than 205.5 points.

Know your officials, know your teams, know your history.  And with that, you're now properly equipped to attack the 2016 NBA Finals from a totals perspective.

Good luck and revel in the action.

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