NBA First-Round Playoff Series Odds – Series Price & Spread for Pistons vs Knicks, T-Wolves vs Lakers & More
By Sascha Paruk in NBA Basketball
Published:
- 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.
Managing Editor
Sascha has been working in the sports-betting industry since 2014, and quickly paired his strong writing skills with a burgeoning knowledge of probability and statistics. He holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.
