The second round of the NBA playoffs has gotten off to a fascinating start.
The three teams favored to win the NBA Finals each lost the first game of their series at home. Sunday, the Indiana Pacers took down the Cleveland Cavaliers. Monday, the New York Knicks completed an incredible comeback to beat the Boston Celtics in overtime and the Denver Nuggets got a game-winning 3-pointer from Aaron Gordon to stun the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Are the three favorites in trouble? Not yet, at least according to the odds at BetMGM. The Thunder is still the favorite to win the NBA Finals at +175, while the Celtics are at +250 and the Cavaliers are at +500. The Timberwolves, who begin their second-round series on Tuesday night against the Warriors, are the No. 4 favorite at +1000.
All three teams are still significant favorites to win their series as well despite the 1-0 deficit. Both Oklahoma City and Boston are -300 to get to the conference finals while the Cavaliers are -220 to take down the Pacers.
Cleveland’s odds are a bit lower than both Boston and Oklahoma City’s likely in part due to injuries. Both Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter are questionable for Game 2 on Tuesday night along with Darius Garland. Mobley and Hunter got hurt in the fourth quarter of the Game 1 loss to the Pacers while Garland hasn’t played since the second game of Cleveland’s sweep of the Miami Heat because of a toe injury.
If you think the Pacers can jump out to a 2-0 lead, it’s probably worth a flier on their chances to win the NBA Finals. Indiana is currently the biggest long shot to win the title at +3500 despite winning Game 1. The Pacers are the only team with odds longer than 28-to-1 and are still +900 to win the Eastern Conference. The Thunder, meanwhile, are -140 to win the West and Denver is only +500.
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