Be sure to also check out our player prop evaluator before each game of the NBA playoffs. This can be found exclusively in the WalterPicks app and identifies the highest value bets for every game!

We used this tool to identify two props for the first round of the play-in earlier this week and both bets hit! Desmond Bane went under 4.5 rebounds, and Jalen Green went over 17.5 points. Check out that newsletter below for more about how we calculate our Value.

No team has played better basketball in the East than the Atlanta Hawks since mid-February. Atlanta has gone 20–6 since February 15 - the best record in the conference over that stretch and third-best in the league.

The engine behind the run is Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who have emerged as one of the best duos in basketball since the Trae Young trade. Johnson is averaging 21.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 7.8 assists since January 31, while Alexander-Walker is averaging 21.6 points, 4.1 assists, and 1.6 steals in that same span.

The Hawks also own the second-best defensive efficiency in the league since the All-Star break. The Knicks are no doubt a talented team, but Atlanta's late-season momentum makes this +220 line a genuine value.

Getting Nikola Jokic at plus money to outscore everyone in this series is such great value. The three-time MVP averaged 27.7 points per game in the regular season, and he always shows up in the postseason.

He averaged 28.7 points across 12 playoff games in 2024 — which included 29 points per game in the semifinal round against the Timberwolves — and averaged 26.2 points per game during last year’s postseason run.

The only realistic threat to this bet is Anthony Edwards, who has been managing a knee injury for much of the past month. However, Jokic has dominated Rudy Gobert recently, averaging 34 points over their last 10 meetings.

This is the type of bet that should be on your ticket before the line moves.

This is definitely the riskiest bet in Round 1, which is why it has +240 odds at DraftKings. Predicting both the winner and the exact series length is always a tall order. But this is a strong value for a team that looks like the clear favorite in this series.

Cleveland has gone 15–6 since March 1 and has been a different team since adding James Harden at the trade deadline. The Cavs are 19–7 when Harden plays alongside Donovan Mitchell, and the Toronto backcourt is simply not equipped to slow that down. The Raptors did sweep all three regular season meetings, but all those games came before Harden arrived in Cleveland.

Toronto could steal a game at home, but taking two from Cleveland in a seven-game series seems unlikely. A 4–1 finish is the most logical path for a Cavs team playing really good basketball.

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