- The Oklahoma City Thunder have -245 odds to win the Western Conference Finals.
- The New York Knicks are favored to win the Eastern Conference Finals with -250 odds.
- Both the Thunder and Knicks are heavy favorites to win Game 1 of their respective series.
OKLAHOMA CITY – The NBA Conference Finals are set with the Oklahoma City Thunder (-245) taking on the San Antonio Spurs in the West and the New York Knicks (-250)going up against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East.
🏆 PLAYOFF BRACKET 🏆
▪️ @cavs win Game 7 on the road, advance to Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2018
The NBA Conference Finals presented by @Google begin Monday with Spurs/Thunder Game 1 at 8:30pm/et on NBC and Peacock. pic.twitter.com/SCrrZZilcK— NBA (@NBA) May 18, 2026
Legal sports betting sites are bullish on both the Thunder and Knicks to move on and meet one another in the NBA Finals.
What both of them have in common is their extensive rest advantage going into both series.
Western Conference Finals Odds: Thunder Vs. Spurs
- Oklahoma City Thunder -245
- San Antonio Spurs +205
Eastern Conference Finals Odds: Knicks Vs. Cavaliers
- New York Knicks -250
- Cleveland Cavaliers +210
Rest Advantage For OKC
Game 1 Odds: San Antonio Spurs Vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Moneyline: Spurs (+190) vs. Thunder (-230)
- Spread: Thunder -6.5
- Total:221.5
These are two completely different teams going into Game 1 as far as rest goes. The Thunder had their way with the Los Angeles Lakers in the semifinals after sweeping them 4-0, with their series ending on May 11th, exactly one week ago from when Game 1 tips off on Monday night.
As for the Spurs, they dealt with the Minnesota Timberwolves in six games, giving them just three days of rest prior to Game 1.
With the rest advantage, all signs are pointing toward OKC having their way in Game 1 for an early lead in the series. The Thunder are 6.5-point Oklahoma sports betting favorites for Monday night.
Going into a game this season with 4+ days off, Oklahoma City leads the league at a 5-0 record straight up and 4-1 record against the spread. They are winning those games by an average of 18.8 points and covering the spread by +3.9 points on average.
As for San Antonio, with between 2-3 days off between games, they are a more conservative 11-8 straight up and just 10-9 against the spread with an average winning margin of 4.2 points and +0.5 points ATS.
Rest Sides With New York Over Cleveland
Game 1 Odds: Cleveland Cavaliers Vs. New York Knicks
- Moneyline: Cavaliers (+220) vs. Knicks -270
- Spread: Knicks -7
- Total: 217
The Knicks are going into this one with just over a week of rest following their 4-0 sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. As for the Cavaliers, it was a rough seven-game series for them against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, they struggle massively when coming off of just 2-3 days of rest between games.
Although 8-5 in that scenario, they have an average cover margin against the spread of -7.5 points and a league-low 1-12 record against the spread in those games.
New York, in three games this season off of 4+ days of rest, is 2-1 outright and against the spread on NBA betting sites. They are averaging a +1.3-point winning margin.
