New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Knicks-Cavaliers is officially verified as Tuesday's East Finals Game 1, and the cleaner pregame side is New York.

Why the Knicks are the practical pick

The official Knicks game notes lock the opener to Madison Square Garden at 8:00 p.m. ET, and that matters because New York come into the series with the stronger opening-game setup. They are at home, they closed the previous round earlier than Cleveland and they enter Game 1 in a building that has already carried a heavy playoff rhythm this spring.

Cleveland are good enough to steal a road opener, but this is still the wrong spot to fade the host before the series has shown any structural edge the other way. New York get first crowd control, first pace control and the simpler pregame path.

What to check

Confirm the final injury report and avoid chasing a poor closing number if the market overprices the home side late.

Bottom line

New York Knicks to win is Tuesday's clearest verified NBA side.