Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals has arrived, and if it brings a fraction of the excitement that the Western Conference Finals brought to us on Monday, then the NBA world should be in for a treat.
The New York Knicks will host the Cleveland Cavaliers in what will be a finale of a rollercoaster bracket in the East.
Every single series the Knicks have not been a part of has gone to seven games, two of which being the Cavs’ narrow victories over the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons.
The Knicks are -270 favorites to reach the NBA Finals after their resounding statement sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round, but will they be able to defend homecourt in Game 1?
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First Pick: New York Knicks -6.5 over Cleveland Cavaliers
Rundown: Through these playoffs, the Cavs have narrowly defeated two teams with very limited offenses that have a lack of auxiliary ballhandling outside of their best player.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, they have to contend with a much more dynamic Knicks offense, with two stars in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns and a returning OG Anunoby who has looked like an All-Star in these playoffs.
After missing the back half of the second round with a hamstring injury, Anunoby is listed as probable for Game 1 on Tuesday, and is averaging 21 points per game on 61% shooting along with elite defense.
The Knicks should win this series, and expect them to take care of homecourt considering the Cavs struggles on the road this postseason.
Cleveland is 2-5 away from home through these playoffs, and the home team won each game in the regular season series between these two teams.
Second Pick: New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – Over 217.5
Rundown: While the East playoffs have featured some elite defensive teams with limited offenses, the last two teams remaining are both much better on the offensive side of the ball.
The Cavs have hit the over in four of their last five games, and allowed several big offensive nights to a Pistons team with a severe lack of shot creators.
Meanwhile, the Knicks have hit the over in four of their last six games, and two of its last three at home.
Jalen Brunson facing off against a defensive backcourt of Harden and Donovan Mitchell is an extremely favorable matchup for New York, but the same is true on the other end, as it is hard to hide Brunson on defense when you have the level of talent in the backcourt that Cleveland does.
This series should be full of scoring explosions between the three star guards in this series, and expect that to start in Game 1, resulting in an easy hit on the over.