In a season mired with inconsistency, the Cleveland Cavaliers still ended up with the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 57-25 straight up and 37-43-2 against the spread record. The Cavaliers enter the postseason as a heavy favorite to emerge as the top team in the Eastern Conference.
NBA Eastern Conference playoff odds 2016: Matchups and betting preview
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are favored over a deep field to win the Eastern Conference heading into the playoffs.
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Cleveland is going off at -260 to win the Eastern Conference and at +400 to win the NBA championship at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The first-round matchup for a No. 1 seed is usually a gimme in the NBA, but that may not be the case for the Cavaliers facing the Detroit Pistons (+5000 to win the East). Detroit ended the year on a 10-4 SU and 8-5-1 ATS run to make the postseason, and posted a 3-1 SU and ATS record against Cleveland this season.
The Toronto Raptors (+500) were edged out for the top spot in the Eastern Conference by only one game, wrapping up the 2015-16 regular season with a 56-26 SU and 44-37-1 ATS record.
Toronto draws the Indiana Pacers (+6600) in the first round, a team that they have performed well against in recent seasons with a 7-1 SU and ATS record in the last eight meetings between these two teams. Indiana closed out the season strongly on a 6-1 SU and 5-2 ATS run.
Below the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, four teams finished with identical records of 48-34 SU, setting the stage for some potentially exciting matchups in the 3-seed vs. 6-seed and 4-seed vs. 5-seed games.
Miami (+1400) won a series of tiebreakers to land the three-seed and the division title in the Southeast. The Heat will take on the Charlotte Hornets (+3300) in the first round with Game 1 in Miami this Sunday.
The Hornets have historically struggled with the Heat, going just 4-24 SU and 10-16-2 ATS against them over the last 28 games in this series per the OddsShark NBA Database. This season, the two teams split the season series with a 2-2 SU and ATS record.
The Atlanta Hawks (+1400) have home court advantage over the Boston Celtics (+1400) in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup that starts this Saturday in Atlanta. The Hawks have been one of the hottest teams in basketball down the stretch with a 17-7 SU and 15-9 ATS record since Feb. 26.
Atlanta’s defense will be put to the test against the Eastern Conference’s top scoring offense as the Celtics averaged 105.7 points per game this season.
