Knicks Still Disrespected in NBA Championship Odds Despite Being Favored to Beat Pacers

All it took was one game for the New York Knicks to go from underdogs to beat the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs to major favorites.

Jalen Brunson (44 points in Game 5) led the Knicks to a massive Game 5 win on Tuesday night, giving them a 3-2 series lead before things shift back to Indiana for Game 6. Historically, teams that win Game 5 when a series is tied 2-2 have won the series 82 percent of the time.

Oddsmakers had the Knicks at +108 to win the series after they were dismantled in Game 4, but New York turned in a 30-point win of its own in Game 5 to shift the odds to Knicks -270 to win the series.

Pacers vs. Knicks Series Odds

• New York Knicks: -270
• Indiana Pacers: +215

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Based on these odds, the Knicks' implied probability of winning this series is 72.97 percent. Based on the historical trend of teams winning 82 percent of the time after taking Game 5 in a 2-2 series, the Knicks technically could be considered undervalued at this number.

Still, New York has yet to win a game in Indiana this series, and the Pacers are a perfect 5-0 at home in the playoffs.

Oddsmakers have favored Indiana by five points in Game 6, a sign that they're expecting this series to go the distance.

Knicks Odds to Win the NBA Finals

• New York Knicks: +2000

Are the Knicks undervalued to win the NBA Finals?

The numbers suggest that they're a bit mispriced.

New York is +2000 to win the title, behind the Minnesota Timberwolves (+1600), Oklahoma City Thunder (+800) and Dallas Mavericks (+1300).

Minnesota has lost three straight games to the Denver Nuggets, falling to a massive underdog to win the series at +350 odds, yet it still has better odds than New York to win the Finals. This is quite confusing with the Knicks favored to make the Eastern Conference Finals and the Wolves expected to be eliminated in the second round.

Now, the Knicks are likely this far down in the title market due to the injuries they have (Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, and Bojan Bogdanovic are all out) and the fact that Boston is heavily favored to win the title.

It seems oddsmakers don't have any faith that the Knicks could get past Boston if they make the Eastern Conference Finals, but they do think that any team in the West could still win the Finals -- or at least has a better chance than the Knicks.

If Anunoby comes back from his hamstring strain, the Knicks would have more of a chance to continue their Cinderella run. For now, bettors should focus on the second round where the Knicks are in a great spot to close out Indiana.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.