NBA Eastern Conference Series Odds
Are the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs set to feature a lot of lopsided series, or do the oddsmakers expect these matchups to be competitive? Here’s a look at the odds for the four pairings.
803 Washington Wizards vs. 804 Toronto Raptors
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, the Toronto Raptors are the favorite in this series as the No. 1 seed. Toronto is being listed with a money line of -650 to win, while the eighth-seeded Washington Wizards are getting odds of +500 to prevail. Over the four meetings these two had this season, each team won twice. Both teams picked up a win at home and a win on the road. The scoring differential over the four games was Toronto at +2.
809 Milwaukee Bucks vs. 810 Boston Celtics
The Celtics are the second seed and have the home-court advantage in this series while the Bucks are the No. 7 seed. The oddsmakers have the Celtics as the slight favorite, with them getting -170 odds to win. The Bucks are getting a money line of +150 to prevail in this series. Over four meetings during the regular season, each team won twice – once at home and once on the road. Boston had a +6 advantage in scoring over the four games but the Celtics are without Kyrie Irving for the series due to his knee injury.
805 Miami Heat vs. 806 Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers are the third seed in the East and are favored to win this series against the sixth-seeded Heat. Oddsmakers list Philadelphia with a money line of -465 to prevail, while the Heat are getting a money line of +390 to win. Over four meetings during the season, the home team won all four contests. Both teams picked up two wins, with Miami actually having a +2 scoring advantage over the two games. Philly could be without Joel Embiid early in this series due to his broken orbital bone.
811 Indiana Pacers vs. 812 Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers are just the fourth seed in the East and they get set to face the fifth-seeded Pacers in the first round. According to oddsmakers, the Cavs are the clear favorite to win the series. Cleveland is getting a money line of -650 to win, while the Pacers are getting a money line of +500 to win. Over four meetings this season, the Pacers actually won three of the four contests, including one win at Cleveland. All four games took place before the NBA trade deadline, when the Cavs completely changed their roster.