After a grueling seven-game series, the Knicks finally have their Eastern Conference Finals opponent.
The surging Knicks, who embarrassed the Philadelphia 76ers in a series sweep, have been off for eight days entering Game 1 against Cavaliers.
Mike Brown’s squad is getting its deserved respect in this series, coming in as a -250 favorite on theScore Bet while Cleveland comes in as +200 underdogs.
The Cavaliers needed to come back from 2-0 against the Pistons to win the series in seven games, though they completely blew Detroit out in Game 7.
There is some reason for optimism in Cleveland, as they really figured things out against the Pistons at the end of that series, posting their best net rating of the playoffs and the fourth-best among all playoff teams in a four-game span.
The Knicks are a different animal right now.
| Team | Series odds | Series spread |
|---|---|---|
| Knicks | -250 | -1.5 (-120 |
| Cavaliers | +200 | +1.5 (+100) |
The Cavaliers pose a different set of challenges than the Pistons would have, as the size of the Cleveland team is legitimately difficult to deal with, led by Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
The Knicks will need Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson to stay healthy and out of foul trouble to avoid getting smashed by the Cavs bigs.
The Knicks lead all playoff teams with a total net rating of 20.0 and have shot an obscene 40.8 percent from 3-point range.
They’re still sitting at 44.7 rebounds per game, while the Cavaliers are just behind at 42.1 and that’s where the series will be critical for Cleveland to stay competitive.
The 2-1 regular season record in favor of the Knicks can pretty much be thrown out considering James Harden was on the Cavaliers for just one of those games.
Cleveland will have a tough task going into Tuesday, knowing they’ve just played a seven-game series, even though they were able to rest some guys for the second half as Detroit quit.
The Knicks are well-rested and the better team to win Game 1 and I have them winning the series.
I do think Cleveland is a tougher matchup than Detroit would have been, but I’m projecting the Knicks to make their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999.
THE PLAY: Knicks win Game 1 and the series (-150, DraftKings)
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.
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