NBA Conference Odds: Eastern vs Western

The NBA Playoffs are moving on after a very exciting opening round of action.

And now, explore the Picks and Predictions for teams on the Eastern and Western Conferences: Celtics vs Cavs, Pacers vs Knicks, Thunder vs Mavs and T-Wolves vs Nuggets in the race for the Championship.

My Analysis

There were no major upsets to be found in either of the conferences and while a pair of lower seeds did move on, I think it’s safe to say that they were results that a lot of us saw coming. For example, seeing the Milwaukee Bucks fall to a #6 seed was not totally unexpected given their injuries and the way they had been playing for a long stretch of time. All of that is behind us now, which means that it’s time to look ahead to the Round 2 matchups, with 8 teams looking to find their way into the Conference Championship Round. Who will make and who will see their playoff dreams end? Let’s take a closet look at all the matchups in Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs.

Eastern Conference Betting Analysis and Odds to Win

Boston Celtics -290 vs Cleveland Cavaliers +2100

The Boston Celtics did get a bit of a scare in Round 1, losing a game on home court against the Miami Heat. That Game 2 loss seemed to shake them up, though, as they never looked back after that, winning the series 4-1. The Cavaliers only with things had gone so smoothly against the Orlando Magic, as they were forced to go to Game 7 on their opening round series. I don’t think there is any chance that they will see this series go all the way, especially since they lost all 3 meetings with the Celtics in the regular season. I think Boston moves on quite comfortably.

Celtics in 5

Indiana Pacers +1200 vs New York Knicks +310

We talk a lot about the regular season series when looking at playoff matchups, but that doesn’t always tell the complete story. The Pacers took 2 of 3 from the Knicks in the regular season, but New York has looked a whole lot better coming down the stretch, as well as in the playoffs, where they beat the 76ers 4-2 in Round 1. You have to give credit to Indiana for taking out a wounded beast in the Milwaukee Bucks, but this is a much tougher ask. The Knicks should dominate in rebounding, which will give them an important edge.

Knicks in 6

Western Conference Betting Analysis and Odds to Win

Oklahoma City Thunder +300 vs Dallas Mavericks +350

There is a certain level of pressure that comes when entering the playoffs as the #1 seed in the conference, but if the Thunder were feeling it, you can certainly say that it didn’t show. They easily took out the New Orleans Pelicans in a 4-game sweep. The Mavericks looked very good in their opening round series versus the Clippers, winning that one in 6 games. This is a much tougher ask for Dallas, but they will cause the Thunder some problems, although I think they ultimately come up short.

Thunder in 6

Minnesota Timberwolves +214 vs Denver Nuggets +210

This series is already underway, with the Timberwolves drawing first blood with a game 1 road win over Denver. They loom to be on an absolute roll after taking out the Phoenix Suns in a 4-game sweep in the opening round. The Nuggets had to work a little harder to get out of Round 1, eventually taking out the Lakers in 6 games. While their Game 1 loss to the T-Wolves was a bit of a surprise, I think we were always looking at a split, as I like this series to go the full 7 games, with Denver edging it.

Nuggets in 7