Cavs' LeBron James vs. Warriors' Stephen Curry
Jun 10, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the first quarter in game four of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. USA TODAY Sports/Bob Donnan

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Kevin Love has laughed off the notion that his team is the underdog entering next week's NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Las Vegas odds makers and basketball analysts expect the Warriors to win the best-of-seven series over the reigning NBA champions.

While the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has tipped Warriors as a -260 favourite, ESPN's basketball power index (BPI) reckons that Stephen Curry & Co. have a 93 percent chance of winning the series. Even LeBron James has conceded that the Warriors are "a beast" and "a juggernaut."

"The whole underdog thing is funny to me, because, yeah, at the end of the day we are defending our title. We're trying to repeat, which is so hard to do. I think we will use it as fuel, we will use it as motivation, but the idea of playing into it? It's tough for me to say that is the case. I don't feel like we're underdogs. We match up well with them, and I think they'd say the same about us," Love said after Saturday's practice session, via ESPN.

Kevin Love had a forgettable 2016 NBA Finals

Love was literally a non-factor during last year's NBA Finals. The stretch-4 power forward averaged just 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds, besides losing his starting role to Richard Jefferson midway through the series. However, Love is averaging an impressive tally of 17.2 points and 10.4 rebounds this postseason while shooting an impeccable .475 from the three-point range.

Tyronn Lue, who led the Cavs to a franchise-first NBA title, reckons the underdog title does not serve as a motivation for his team since they're trying to repeat as champions. "We're not going to use that as motivation. It's like...we're in the NBA Finals. That's enough motivation alone. Not worry about what it says in Vegas or what people are saying about underdogs. We're not using that as an excuse. We've got to come out and play. Our goals were set at the beginning of the season, and that's to win a championship. So that's what we're focused on."

The 2017 NBA Finals gets underway on July 1. The Warriors and Cavs are 1-1 wins apiece entering the trilogy of NBA championship rounds.

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