When the season began, the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics were given little chance by the NBA punditry to be playing for the NBA championship.
Tipico Sportsbook had the Warriors at +1000, far behind title favorite Brooklyn at +230. The Celtics landed outside of the Top 10. But the Celtics and Warriors survived the brutal regular season and then the first three rounds of the playoffs.
Now the Warriors will play for their fourth NBA title in eight years. The Celtics will be playing for their NBA-record 18th title.
To help sort out the Finals, our team of NBA experts will make their predictions: Jeff Zillgitt, Cydney Henderson and Matt Eppers of USA TODAY Sports, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic, Berry Tramel of the Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman, Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal, James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press, Joseph Mussatto of the Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman and Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
