{"id":585353,"date":"2026-02-06T03:05:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T03:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/585353\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T03:05:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T03:05:22","slug":"knicks-eastern-conference-title-odds-jump-after-nba-trade-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/585353\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks’ Eastern Conference title odds jump after NBA Trade Deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\tGambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

The Knicks and Giannis Antetokounmpo will have to wait until summer for a potential union.<\/p>\n

In lieu of the blockbuster, Leon Rose opted for stability at the NBA<\/a> Trade Deadline and the Knicks\u2019 Eastern Conference odds increased marginally.<\/p>\n

The Knicks still carry the second-shortest odds to make the NBA Finals at +340 via BetMGM<\/a> after starting February at +350.<\/p>\n

With Miles McBride\u2019s return in question due to core muscle surgery<\/a>, the Knicks acquired backup point guard depth by trading for Jose Alvarado from New Orleans<\/a> for Dalen Terry and two second-round picks on Thursday. Alvarado adds perimeter pressure and energy off the bench, which the Knicks were lacking in the second unit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alvarado was a target for the Knicks as they were also in search for a capable understudy to Jalen Brunson while Tyler Kolek had been servicing the role in McBride\u2019s stead.<\/p>\n

Terry was a flipped asset that the Knicks acquired in exchange for Guerschon Yabusele on Wednesday. This alleviated some cap space for the Knicks to absorb his $4.5 million player option for next season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Knicks were leapfrogged by the Cavaliers, who are now +340 favorites to win the East.\u00a0 Cleveland shifted into \u201cwin-now\u201d mode by replacing Donovan Mitchell\u2019s supporting cast. They shedded their three worst-performing regulars by net rating in Darius Garland, De\u2019Andre Hunter, and Lonzo Ball and added James Harden, Keon Ellis, and Dennis Schroder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"JanMiles McBride reacts during the second quarter of the Knicks\u2019 win over the Kings on Jan. 27, 2026 at Madison Square Garden. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Harden, 36, was acquired in exchange for Garland and a second-round pick. Despite his age, Harden has been healthier and more effective than Garland, dropping 25.4 points per game to Garland\u2019s 18.<\/p>\n

Cleveland holds a +500 tag before the deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Betting on the NBA? <\/p>\n

The East-leading Pistons took a hit on the oddsboard, sliding from +320 favorites to +360.<\/p>\n

Detroit acquired sharpshooter Kevin Huerter and Dario Saric in a three-team trade with the Bulls and Timberwolves on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Knicks remain five games behind the Pistons and tied for second place with the Celtics while the Cavaliers sit 7 \u00bd games behind in fourth.<\/p>\n

Why Trust New York Post Betting<\/p>\n

Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":585354,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3768],"tags":[7,212,193,188,304,6,214,1136,191,3810,3806,66,215],"class_list":{"0":"post-585353","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-knicks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-betting","10":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","11":"tag-detroit-pistons","12":"tag-knicks","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-nba-betting","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-knicks","17":"tag-newyork","18":"tag-newyorkknicks","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-sports-betting"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116021477755244637","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}