Playoff markets shift
- NBA Round 1 is underway and bettors see most higher seeds favored, but one series is especially even. (cbssports.com) - The Athletic says Knicks-Hawks Game 3 is essentially a pick ’em, signaling that series is particularly competitive. (nytimes.com) - Market view shows better seeds favored in seven of eight series, with Rockets favored against an injured Lakers team. (nytimes.com)
Sportsbooks opened the 2026 National Basketball Association playoffs with a simple view: higher seeds should control almost every first-round series. Only New York-Atlanta is trading like a true toss-up. (nytimes.com) The Athletic reported Thursday, April 23, that better seeds were favored in seven of the eight first-round matchups. The lone exception was Houston against the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers. (nytimes.com) That same market split showed up game by game. Knicks-Hawks Game 3 in Atlanta was listed as essentially a pick ’em after the series was tied 1-1. (nytimes.com) The National Basketball Association’s first round began on April 18 after the April 14-17 play-in tournament, and the bracket now has eight best-of-seven series underway. CBS Sports’ bracket lists Knicks-Hawks, Cavaliers-Raptors, Pistons-Magic and 76ers-Celtics in the East, with Thunder-Suns, Nuggets-Timberwolves, Spurs-Trail Blazers and Rockets-Lakers in the West. (nba.com) (cbssports.com) The Knicks-Hawks line tightened after Atlanta evened the series in Game 2. NBA.com’s playoff page showed the matchup tied 1-1 entering Thursday night’s Game 3, with Jalen Brunson averaging 28.5 points in the series for New York and C.J. McCollum at 29.0 for Atlanta. (nba.com) Houston’s status as a favorite against Los Angeles was tied to the Lakers’ injury list, not seeding. USA Today reported this week that the Lakers were still without Luka Doncic for the series, and another April 18 report said injuries to Doncic and Austin Reaves had left LeBron James carrying a larger share of the load. (usatoday.com 1) (usatoday.com 2) The bracket itself helps explain why oddsmakers leaned toward favorites. The No. 3 Knicks opened against the No. 6 Hawks, and most other series also paired teams with a clear regular-season gap in seed position. (cbssports.com) Markets can still move quickly inside a series, especially once games shift cities and injuries change rotations. On Thursday’s board, though, the broad first-round picture remained intact: most top seeds still had the betting edge, and Knicks-Hawks was the one series being priced like neither side had separated. (nytimes.com)
