Following the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ clinching of a third NBA Finals appearance, Las Vegas released the betting odds for the series with the Golden State Warriors as the favorites.

This news was relayed to Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love, who was baffled by the fact that the defending champions are the underdogs. This is a similar sentiment that was shared by Warriors head coach Steve Kerr on Monday, according to Jimmy Durkin of East Bay Times.

“They’re the champions. We’re not,” Steve Kerr said Monday when he was a surprise fill-in at practice for an ill Mike Brown, who of course is serving as acting coach for the ailing Kerr.

Although the Warriors are hitting on all cylinders heading into the NBA Finals holding a perfect 12-o record, the Cavaliers are not far off that pace. Cleveland has been an offensive juggernaut in their own right currently holding the highest offensive efficiency at 120.7 points per 100 possessions and second with 116.3 points per game on playoff-best marks with 50.7 percent shooting from the field and 43.5 percent from beyond the arc.

The Cavaliers also enter the NBA Finals a healthy team with LeBron James leading the way. James is playing arguably the best basketball of his career in his 14th season while Love and Kyrie Irving are each holding up more than their end of the bargains in this year's playoffs.
Regardless of who the betting odds favor, this should all set up what will be a highly-competitive series pitting the top two teams in the league against each other with the NBA title hanging in the balance.