Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 7 Prediction, NBA Finals Odds
All the experts seemingly picked Oklahoma City to make quick work of Indiana in the NBA Finals and those same “experts” predicted an OKC rout in Game 6. That’s proof to be careful who you trust as the Pacers absolutely slammed the Thunder in a 108-91 rout that was much worse than the score even indicated.
Which of these teams will take the NBA championship on Sunday?
Oklahoma City opened as an 8.5-point favourite to win on the NBA odds, with the total pegged at 215.5.
Pacers vs. Thunder NBA Betting Odds
Let’s take a quick rewind back to Game 1 of this series to see how little faith oddsmakers had in the Pacers. Indiana entered Game 1 of the NBA Finals as +500 underdogs to win the NBA championship, while OKC was a massive -700 favourite.
It was even more lopsided ahead of Game 6. The Thunder entered Thursday’s contest at -3300 to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy, while the Pacers were +1250. Anything can happen in a Game 7, so you have to think some bettors are kicking themselves for not having more faith in Indiana.
Regardless of which team wins, the NBA will have a first-time champion. Sure, the Oklahoma City franchise has technically won an NBA championship, but that was as the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979. Indiana won three titles as an ABA dynasty in the early 1970s, but they haven’t won a championship since joining the NBA in 1976.
Game 7 of any championship series breeds drama. For bettors who want to bring that drama to another level, you can get +5000 odds on the NBA futures board that Game 7 will be decided by a game-winning field goal as time expires.
You can be sure that if a buzzer-beater wins Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, Disney will begin producing a movie by Monday.
Here’s your glass half full versus glass half empty stats, depending on which team you are cheering for:
OKC fans: Home teams are 15-4 all-time when the NBA Finals goes to seven games.
Indiana fans: Cleveland won at Golden State in the last NBA Finals Game 7 in 2016. And ironically, one of the other three home team losers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals was Seattle in 1978, 30 years before they became the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Make of that what you will.
Indiana Pacers
You have to give the Pacers their flowers after an incredibly impressive performance with their backs against the wall in Game 6. Six different players hit double-digit points, led by Obi Toppin’s 20. Andrew Nemhard had 17 points and Pascal Siakam added 16 points and 13 rebounds.
The result of was never in doubt on Thursday as Indiana led by 22 points at the half and were ahead as much as 31 in the game. To put that dominance into context, the Pacers never led by more than 10 points at any point in the first five games of the series.
The big question going into Game 6 was the availability of Tyrese Haliburton, who has been dealing with a calf strain. Haliburton fought through the pain to play and produce 14 points, but he’s clearly very limited right now. Players like Siakam, Nembhard and Toppin will be crucial in Game 7 with Haliburton far from 100 per cent.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Pacers clearly figured out how to deal with Jalen Williams in Game 6. Williams, who averaged 31 points per game between Games 3-5, was limited to 16 in Game 6, his lowest point total of the series. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also had his least productive outing of the series with 21 points.
Don’t expect OKC to be so thoroughly dominated in Game 7. For one thing, the Thunder should be rested after taking their starters off the floor for the fourth quarter on Thursday. For a second thing, Oklahoma City is back home where they are a dominating 45-8 combined in the regular season and playoffs this year.
Believe it or not, but Game 6 wasn’t the worst performance the Thunder have had these playoffs. At one point against Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals, OKC trailed by 45 points and obviously went on to win the series. And remember, anything can happen in a Game 7.
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