- Four of the eight NBA first-round playoff series are set
- The series price favors the home team to advance in all four first-round NBA matchups
- See the NBA first-round playoff series odds for all matchups on the board
The first round of the 2025 NBA playoff bracket won’t be complete until the Play-In Tournament concludes on Friday, April 18. But after the final day of regular-season play, exactly half of the bracket has been cemented (four of eight series).
The table below lists the opening series odds for all first-round matchups currently on the board at online sportsbooks: Pistons vs Knicks, Bucks vs Pacers, Timberwolves vs Lakers, and Clippers vs Nuggets.
NBA First-Round Playoff Series Odds
The Thunder enter the postseason as the outright favorite in the NBA Championship odds, priced between +165 and +175 to win their first title in franchise history. The Celtics (+200 to +220) are a close second with the Cavs (+550 to +650) rounding out the top three. After Cleveland, there’s a steep drop to the Lakers at +1400. Odds as of April 13 at DraftKings. See the full list of betting sites that accept Apple Pay.
Pistons vs Knicks Series Odds
%. The biggest first-round favorite so far is the #3 New York Knicks (51-31, 27-14 home, 24-17 away, 39-41-1 ATS), who are -425 moneyline favorites to advance past the #6 Detroit Pistons (44-38, 22-19 home, 22-19 away, 42-36-3 ATS), who come back as +330 underdogs. The current moneyline prices give New York an 80.95% implied win probability and Detroit just 23.26The biggest first-round favorite so far is the #3 New York Knicks (51-31, 27-14 home, 24-17 away, 39-41-1 ATS), who are -425 moneyline favorites to advance past the #6 Detroit Pistons (44-38, 22-19 home, 22-19 away, 42-36-3 ATS), who come back as +330 underdogs. The current moneyline prices give New York an 80.95% implied win probability and Detroit just 23.26%.
Detroit drastically overperformed preseason expectations just one year after finishing with the worst record in the entire NBA. The Pistons also have recent history on their side against the Knicks, taking three of four regular-season meetings, including each of the three most-recent. New York blew out Detroit 128-98 on the road in the first meeting of the season back on Nov. 1, but Detroit answered back with a 120-111 win in New York on Dec. 7, a 124-119 in the Big Apple on Jan. 13, and a 115-106 home victory less than a week ago (Apr. 10).
Detroit is in the postseason for the first time since 2019 and is seeking its first playoff victory since the 2008 season. The Pistons are currently riding a 14-game postseason losing streak, getting swept in three straight playoff appearances (2009, 2016, 2019) plus another two games at the end of the ’08 playoffs.
The Knicks are in the playoffs for the third straight season. They have won their first-round series each of the past two seasons, beating the Cavs (4-1) in 2023 and 76ers (4-2) in 2024.
Bucks vs Pacers Series Odds
One of the hotter teams in the league since the All-Star break, the Indiana Pacers (50-32, 29-11 home, 20-20 away, 35-43-3 ATS) are -190 favorites to advance past the Milwaukee Bucks (48-34, 27-14 home, 20-20 away, 42-38-2 ATS) in the 4-vs-5 matchup in the East. The current series price gives the Pacers a 65.52% implied win probability, while the Bucks’ +160 odds give Milwaukee a 38.46% implied win probability.
As with the Detroit/New York series, the underdog dominated the regular-season series between the Bucks and Pacers. Milwaukee won three of four against their Central Division rivals, taking a 129-117 home win on Nov. 22, a 120-112 road win on Dec. 31, and a 126-119 home win on Mar. 15. Indiana’s only victory was a slim 115-114 home win on Mar. 11, in which the Bucks pushed as one-point road underdogs.
Milwaukee also enters the postseason on an eight-game overall win streak, covering the spread in seven. Indiana has won seven of its last eight straight-up but only covered the spread in three of its last nine games.
Bookmark SBD’s NBA public betting splits page to see the up-to-date numbers on every NBA playoff game.
As the NBA playoffs approach, basketball fans are eagerly anticipating the first-round matchups that will determine which teams advance to the next round. Among the most intriguing series are the Detroit Pistons vs New York Knicks and the Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Lakers. Let’s take a closer look at the series price and spread analysis for these matchups.
The Pistons vs Knicks series is expected to be a closely contested battle, with both teams boasting talented rosters and strong playoff aspirations. The series price currently favors the Pistons, with odds of -150 to win the series compared to +130 for the Knicks. This means that a bet of $150 on the Pistons would yield a profit of $100 if they win the series, while a $100 bet on the Knicks would result in a profit of $130 if they come out on top.
In terms of the spread, the Pistons are currently favored by 1.5 points in Game 1 of the series. This indicates that oddsmakers believe the Pistons have a slight edge over the Knicks in the opening game of the series. However, with both teams evenly matched, it’s likely that this series will go down to the wire and could potentially go to a Game 7.
Moving on to the Timberwolves vs Lakers series, the odds heavily favor the Lakers to come out on top. The series price currently sits at -300 for the Lakers and +250 for the Timberwolves, indicating that oddsmakers believe the Lakers are heavy favorites to win the series. A $300 bet on the Lakers would yield a profit of $100 if they win, while a $100 bet on the Timberwolves would result in a profit of $250 if they pull off the upset.
In terms of the spread, the Lakers are favored by 5.5 points in Game 1 of the series. This suggests that oddsmakers expect the Lakers to have a relatively comfortable victory in the opening game against the Timberwolves. With stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the way, it’s no surprise that the Lakers are considered strong contenders to make a deep playoff run.
Overall, both the Pistons vs Knicks and Timberwolves vs Lakers series promise to be exciting matchups with plenty of drama and intensity. Basketball fans will be eagerly watching to see which teams come out on top and advance to the next round of the playoffs.