Knicks massively disrespected in opening first-round series odds vs. Sixers

Don't look now, but the New York Knicks are underdogs in the first round of the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers, according to the opening betting odds.

New York was a +105 underdog after the 76ers defeated the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament on Wednesday night, but the odds have shifted a little towards New York, but the team is still a dog to the Sixers (-115 to win the series).

The Knicks won 50 games in the regular season, earning the No. 2 seed in the East on the final day of the season after they didn't duck Philly or Miami, defeating the Chicago Bulls in overtime in Game 82.

And in turn, New York is getting extremely disrespected in the futures market. Not only are the Knicks dogs to the Sixers, but they are +1200 to win the Eastern Conference. Philly, on the other hand, is +700.

Wow.

There is zero belief in Vegas that Jalen Brunson and company can take down this Sixers team, even thoguh the Knicks went 3-1 against Philly in the regular season, including 1-0 when Joel Embiid was in action. It was one of just eight losses that Philly has suffered this season when Embiid plays.

Here's a quick look at the first round series odds from DraftKings for Knicks-Sixers:

Sixers vs. Knicks First Round Series Odds

• Philadelphia 76ers: -115
• New York Knicks: -105

Based on these odds, the Knicks have an implied probability of 51.22 percent to win this series while Philly's implied probability is 53.49 percent. Since neither team is set at plus odds, oddsmakers aren't giving much value to betting on a Knicks series win -- but they still should not be priced as underdogs.

Why Knicks are undervalued against Sixers in first round

So far this season, Philly has been dominant with Embiid, but not against New York.

Embiid scored 30 points in his lone meeting against the Knicks, but he shot just 10-for-23 from the field and was a minus-29 in 36 minutes. New York won that game 128-92. Oh, and by the way, Mitchell Robinson (ankle) was not available for that matchup.

Guarding Embiid is a tough task (there's a reason why Philly is 32-8 when he plays), but the Knicks have multiple players in Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein (who gave Embiid fits back in January) to at least make things tough on the reigning MVP.

Plus, these teams play very similar styles, and one could argue that benefits the Knicks.

New York was dead last in the NBA in pace this season (Philly clocked in at No. 18), but it was a better shooting team (16th in effective field goal percentage) than the Sixers (24th in eFG%). Plus, New York finished the season with a top-five net rating and top-10 defensive rating.

If this game slows down, it benefits the Knicks, who held the Sixers to less than 100 points in all four meetings this season, including two games without Embiid where they held Philly to just 79 points.

We're also missing the OG Anunoby factor. New York is 2-0 against the Sixers when OG plays, and 20-3 overall on the season when the defensive ace is in the lineup.

He should get chances on Tyrese Maxey, which will make things tough on the All-Star guard to create offense.

Ultimately, this series could come down to the stars, and Embiid admitted yesterday that he's around 70-80 percent after tweaking his injured knee at the end of the regular season. New York is going to play a physical brand of basketball that could wear Embiid down over a seven-game series, and it has the home-court advantage.

Embiid is a great player, but he looked far from 100 percent last night, shooting 6-for-17 from the field while scoring 23 points. That tells me that New York could expose him on both ends and throughout seven games, the Sixers are asking a lot from him.

There's only one No. 2 seed that could receive this type of disrespect, and it's the Knicks. Julius Randle hasn't played for the team's last 36 games, yet oddsmakers are treating it like New York just lost him.

New York is built to play without Randle right now, and the team's defense is going to be the difference-maker in this series.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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