Opening Price (via DraftKings): Cleveland Cavaliers (-185) New York Knicks (+150)
The New York Knicks won three of four regular season meetings with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but despite that the betting market has made them sizable underdogs in their first round series. At the center of that price is the unknown status of forward Julius Randle, who is recovering from an ankle injury that caused him to miss the last four games of the regular season. Randle is going to be reevaluated before the series begins, but even with the potential of him being available to start the series has not deterred the betting market from betting this price up.
Randle’s impact on this series goes beyond just being the Knicks’ leading scorer (25.1) and rebounder (10.0). His presence on the floor can create match up issues for Cleveland’s defense.
When these two teams met on Jan. 24, Randle scored 36 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the floor. His scoring forced the Cavaliers to put Jarrett Allen on him as a primary defender in the second half, leaving Evan Mobley to play the five defensively. That strategy worked because Mitchell Robinson missed the game, but in a playoff series where Robinson is on the floor that defensive change cannot happen, as his ability to work the offensive glass against the smaller Mobley will hurt Cleveland.