76ers vs. Knicks Series Prediction, Odds, Best Bets for NBA Playoffs (Another Game 7 Ahead?)

Joel Embiid vs. Karl-Anthony Towns. Tyrese Maxey vs. Jalen Brunson. Paul George vs. OG Anunoby. VJ Edgecombe vs. Josh Hart/Mikal Bridges.

It doesn’t get much better than for a second-round playoff series, and the New York Knicks enter as small favorites over the Philadelphia 76ers.

New York is looking to make a second straight Eastern Conference Finals appearance while the Sixers want revenge after they lost in the first round to New York back in 2024.

These teams split their regular season meetings (2-2 overall, 1-1 when Embiid played), though the Knicks (No. 3 in the East) finished with the fifth-best net rating in the regular season and the No. 1 net rating in the first round of the playoffs.

Philly pulled off a wild 3-1 comeback over Boston in the first round, showing that it has a gear that very few teams can reach when Embiid, Maxey and George are all on the floor. So, who wins this series?

The Knicks enter as favorites, but the odds suggest that we could see a long matchup with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals on the line.

Let’s take a look at the odds and my prediction for this Eastern Conference semifinal matchup, which begins with Game 1 on Monday.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

76ers vs. Knicks Series Odds

76ers: +220
Knicks: -270

The Knicks are favored to win this series, though Philly certainly has a fighting chance with Embiid healthy. The 76ers were much bigger underdogs in the first round against Boston, which is notable since the betting market has taken a long time to warm up to New York as a Finals contender.

Based on these odds, the Knicks have an implied probability of 72.97 percent to win this matchup.

76ers vs. Knicks Series Correct Score

Knicks in 5: +320
Knicks in 7: +400
Knicks in 4: +450
Knicks in 6: +500
76ers in 6: +650
76ers in 7: +900
76ers in 5: +1500
76ers in 4: +2200

The most-likely outcome in this series is for New York to win in five games, but oddsmakers have set five different outcomes at +650 or shorter. A key for New York may be getting home court in this series, which it wouldn't have had against Boston. The Knicks were 30-10 at home in the regular season and 2-1 at home in the playoffs.

76ers vs. Knicks Series Spread

76ers +1.5 (+105)
Knicks -1.5 (-130)

76ers vs. Knicks Series Total Games

5.5 (Over -130/Under +105)

Based on these odds, this series is expected to go to six games or more, and these teams did play six games in their 2024 playoff matchup.

New York in 6 (+500) is an interesting bet in this matchup, and it’s worth noting that Philly is now 3-1 in the playoffs with Embiid and well over .500 (27-15) when he plays in the 2025-26 campaign (including playoffs).

76ers vs. Knicks Prediction and Pick

The Sixers deserve a ton of credit for handling Boston after falling behind 3-1 in the first round, but things won’t be as easy down low for Embiid in this matchup.

New York has two very solid bigs in Towns and Mitchell Robinson, and one could argue Robinson is one of the more well-equipped Embiid defenders in the league.

Maxey could be an issue for the Knicks – he torched them during the regular season for three 30-point games – but Jalen Brunson had his way with the Sixers back in the 2024 NBA Playoffs with Kelly Oubre as the primary defender.

The X-Factor in this series may be OG Anunoby, who played at an All-Star level in the first round. With Towns taking less than 10 shots per game for New York, Anunoby stepped up as a scorer and he’s the perfect matchup for Paul George on the defensive end.

The Knicks – a top-five team in net rating during the regular season – deserve the benefit of the doubt here since they did dominate at home (30-10 in the regular season) and played some of their best basketball of the season in the final three games against Atlanta.

Still, there is a level that this Philly team can reach when healthy that very few teams in the NBA can. I lean with the Knicks to win this matchup, but I think this series goes the distance.

Pick: Knicks in 7 (-270, +400 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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

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