What: Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals
When: Thursday, 8:30 pm ET, ABC
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Odds: Thunder -9.5, Over/Under 230.5
Pacers vs. Thunder head-to-head
2-0 Thunder during the regular season, 0-0 in the series
December 26 @ Indiana: Thunder 120-114
March 29 @ Oklahoma City: Thunder 132-111
Pacers vs. Thunder preview
It’s a surprising NBA Finals matchup…but not because of Oklahoma City, of course. The Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder were always expected to make it this far. Indiana, on the other hand, improbably won the East by beating Milwaukee, Cleveland, and New York.
The Pacers can’t be entirely discounted, but it has to be said that their path to the finals has been favorable. The Bucks lost Damian Lillard to a torn Achilles’, the Cavs were banged up in a big way, and Indy got to face New York instead of Boston after Jason Tatum of the Celtics also blew out his Achiiles’. For the visitors, Jarace Walker (ankle) being sidelined for at least the first two games doesn’t help matters.
OKC (68-14 regular season) is quite simply the best team in the NBA. No team in the Western Conference finished closer than 16 games behind head coach Mark Daigneault’s squad and everyone in the league was at least four back. The Thunder required seven games in the second round against the Nuggets, but that was preceded by a four-game sweep of the Grizzlies and SGA and company restored order by beating Minnesota in five.
The Thunder swept the regular-season series 2-0 by a combined 27 points. With a single-digit spread, I’m backing them to win and cover in the series opener.
Pick: Thunder -9.5
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