Having beaten the Miami Heat in a down to the wire nailbiter, the Philadelphia 76ers will now move on to face off against division rivals New York Knicks in the first round of the eastern conference. So, now that the matchup is set, let’s take a deeper look at the series.
First off are the expectations. Unlike most matchups between the number two and number seven seed, many have this series being a close one with some even believing that the 76ers are favorites. Charles Barkley more or less picked them over the Knicks Wednesday night, Colin Cowherd did the same, and if you, like many other smart fans, choose not to listen to sports “entertainers” who mask themselves as analysts, look no further than Las Vegas, which opened up with the Knicks’ odds of winning the series at a surprising +106.