It took both teams seven games, but the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors each fought their way back into the NBA Finals. This will mark the fourth time in a row that the two teams have met with the Larry O'Brien Trophy up for grabs. In addition, it's an impressive eighth-straight appearance for LeBron James, who has guided the Cavs and Miami Heat to NBA Finals trips and a few titles during that stretch. Here's a look at the upcoming 2018 NBA Finals matchup odds and TV schedule for games.

Cavs vs. Warriors preview & odds

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers emerged as Eastern Conference champions for their fourth-straight season.

James put on a set of back-to-back performances against the Boston Celtics to keep his latest championship hopes alive. In a deciding Game 7 held in Boston, the Celtics seemed to fall apart down the stretch, while James, along with help from Jeff Green, and other players, was able to close out the win. They did that without Kevin Love on the court, and it's already being said that he's "iffy" for Game 1.

On Monday night, the Golden State Warriors followed suit, by winning a Game 7 on the road in Houston. The Rockets had a stretch of 27 missed three-point shots, which made NBA history. James Harden and company couldn't do enough to hold off the superior star power of Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson.

Once again, the Warriors started to get hot from the field and ran away with the game late. Now they'll pursue their second-straight NBA title and third in the past four years. It should be noted, they were without a key player as well, as Andre Iguodala, formerly an NBA Finals MVP, was sidelined.

While it's not a foregone conclusion that Golden State will add another championship banner, it seems pretty close based on the disparity between the two teams in terms of overall depth.

Oddsmakers have also made the Warriors -900 favorites to win the NBA Finals, with the Cleveland Cavaliers at +675. Still, there are plenty of fans who realize that LeBron James is always able to pull off impressive feats that no one expects.

Historically, Golden State has always been a favorite in each of the last three NBA Finals trips.

While 2015 and 2016 had close odds between the two squads, 2017 saw Golden State installed as -2000 favorites with Cleveland at +1000 underdogs. That's mostly due to the addition of Kevin Durant who has really shifted the balance of power to the Warriors.

NBA Finals TV schedule

The 2018 NBA Finals will tip off this coming Thursday at 9 PM Eastern Time at ORACLE Arena in Oakland. Since the Warriors have the better record of the two teams, they'll have home court throughout the best-of-seven game series. Game 2 arrives on Sunday, June 3 with a tip-off time of 8 PM Eastern Time. Game 3 will shift to Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday, June 6, while Game 4 takes place on Friday, June 8 at 9 PM Eastern Time.

  • Game 1 at Warriors (THU 5/31 at 9 PM ET ABC)
  • Game 2 at Warriors (SUN 6/3 at 8 PM ET ABC)
  • Game 3 at Cavaliers (WED 6/6 at 9 PM ET ABC)
  • Game 4 at Cavaliers (FRI 6/8 at 9 PM ET ABC)
  • Game 5 at Warriors (MON 6/11 at 9 PM ET ABC)*
  • Game 6 at Cavaliers (THU 6/14 at 9 PM ET ABC)*
  • Game 7 at Warriors (SUN 6/17 at 8 PM ET ABC )*

From there, Games 5, 6, and 7 are all "if necessary." They will shift back and forth between Oakland and Cleveland, with a deciding Game 7 set for Sunday, June 17 at Golden State starting at 8 PM Eastern Time, if necessary. All games will be on ABC network for fans to watch.
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