Market Sets Playoff Odds

Betting markets have set the 2026 National Basketball Association playoff board, with San Antonio and Boston opening as the heaviest first-round favorites and Houston favored over the Los Angeles Lakers. (sports.yahoo.com) Yahoo Sports, citing BetMGM odds published Thursday, listed the Spurs at -2500 against Portland, the Celtics at -900 against Philadelphia, the Rockets at -600 against the Lakers, the Cavaliers at -550 against Toronto, the Nuggets at -350 against Minnesota, and the Knicks at -275 against Atlanta. (sports.yahoo.com) Two first-round pairings were still unsettled as of Friday, April 17: Detroit was waiting for the East No. 8 seed, and Oklahoma City was waiting for the West No. 8 seed. The National Basketball Association scheduled those final play-in games for Friday night, with Orlando hosting Charlotte at 7:30 p.m. Eastern and Phoenix hosting Golden State at 10 p.m. Eastern. (nba.com) The play-in results already locked in two of the lower seeds. Philadelphia beat Orlando 109-97 on April 15 to claim the East’s No. 7 seed, and Portland beat Phoenix 114-110 on April 14 to take the West’s No. 7 seed. (nba.com) That left Boston-Philadelphia and San Antonio-Portland as confirmed series before the full bracket was complete. The National Basketball Association’s first round begins Saturday, April 18, with New York-Atlanta and Cleveland-Toronto in the East and Denver-Minnesota and Lakers-Rockets in the West. (nba.com) The odds also frame how unusual a few matchups look this year. Detroit finished No. 1 in the East, Charlotte reached the East play-in field, and Golden State fell to No. 10 in the West, according to Yahoo Sports’ roundup of the market. (sports.yahoo.com) Houston’s price against the Lakers stands out because the Rockets are the No. 5 seed but still opened as a clear favorite over the No. 4 seed. The bracket shows that series starts Saturday, April 18, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC. (sports.yahoo.com) (nba.com) Yahoo Sports also noted that Boston secured the No. 2 seed after a season played mostly without Jayson Tatum, who was recovering from the Achilles injury he suffered in last year’s postseason. Oklahoma City, meanwhile, finished first in the West for a second straight season. (sports.yahoo.com) By Friday night, the market had priced nearly every opening-round matchup before the bracket was fully set. The last two play-in winners will decide who opens on the road Sunday in Detroit and Oklahoma City. (sports.yahoo.com) (nba.com)