For as highly-regarded as the Oklahoma City Thunder are, the New York Knicks were actually more favored to advance to the NBA Finals than Oklahoma City when the conference finals started.

That’s entirely based on the matchups. The Knicks are slightly bigger favorites (-265) on DraftKings to get past the Cleveland Cavaliers than the Thunder were to advance (-260) against the San Antonio Spurs before that series started.

The Knicks were also favored in last year’s conference finals against Indiana, but by a more modest margin at -155. Will that experience change things this time around?

Game 1: Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks

TV: ESPN

Time: Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET

Series odds: Knicks -265, Cavaliers +215

You know that common thinking about how hard it can be to just flip a switch and turn it on in the playoffs after a so-so regular season? Well, the Knicks appear to have done that.

The Knicks, who entered the season as one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference, finished the regular season with a good, but far from great, 53-29 record. That was good for the third seed in the conference. Then, New York fell behind 2-1 in its first-round series against Atlanta. At that point, the Hawks were actually favored to advance from that series.

Since losing Game 3 in Atlanta, the Knicks have been on fire. New York has seven straight wins, and six of them have been by double digits. Four of them came by at least 29 points.

The Knicks’ lowest scoring output during this run was 108 points. They’re averaging 125.3 points per game in these seven wins.

That’s a big reason why New York is so heavily favored to advance from this series. It also hasn’t hurt that No. 2 seed Boston lost in the first round and No. 1 seed Detroit lost in the second, meaning the Knicks get to start the conference finals with home-court advantage.

This is the first time Cleveland is in a conference finals without LeBron James since 1992, when they ran into the dynasty-era Chicago Bulls. The Cavs were actually preseason favorites in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland won 64 games last year and then dropped all the way to 52 this season. Yet, this year has had the better playoff run.

While the Knicks have blown teams away, Cleveland has had to endure a pair of Game 7s. The Cavs demolished Detroit on Sunday to get here and don’t get a break before heading to Madison Square Garden.

This is Donovan Mitchell’s team, and Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen both had big nights against the Pistons in Game 7, but this could be the first time James Harden makes it to the NBA Finals since he left Oklahoma City in 2012. Harden’s Houston Rockets lost twice in the conference finals. Perhaps the 2021 Brooklyn Nets should’ve gone deeper had the team been healthier, but the 36-year-old has another chance now with Cleveland.

The Knicks are favored by 7.5 points for Tuesday’s Game 1. Seven of the Knicks’ eight wins this playoffs have been by more than that.