NBA Finals predictions and tips: Pacers can keep things tight

Where to watch the NBA Finals

Live on TNT Sports, from 1.30am Friday June 6.

Enhanced Offer

4/5

NEW CUSTOMER OFFER

35/1 Scheffler To Make The Cut At The US Open + £5 Royal Ascot Free Bet

NEW CUSTOMER OFFER

• Enhanced odds paid in free bets

CLAIM OFFER

18+ T&Cs apply

New customer offer. Place a max £1 bet on Scottie Scheffler to make the cut at the US Open 2025. Winnings paid in cash at normal odds and are topped up to the enhanced price in Free Bets. Plus get a £5 Free Royal Ascot bet which will be credited by 12pm on June 13th. Free bets are valid 7 days, only deposits with cards & Apple Pay are eligible. Excludes multiples & in-play bets. T&C's apply. Please gamble responsibly.

Paddy Power are offering 40-1 on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to have 25+ points in Game One

Best bets for the NBA Finals series & Game One

Indiana Pacers +2.5 games in series
2pts Evs Betfair, Paddy Power

Jalen Williams most steals in series
1pt 9-2 bet365

Oklahoma City Thunder -9.5 in Game One
2pts 20-21 bet365

NBA Outright odds

NBA Playoffs 2024-25 predictions

Game One of the NBA Finals takes place at 1.30am on Friday morning as Western Conference winners Oklahoma City Thunder host Eastern champions Indiana Pacers.

Both teams have a chance to make a bit of history. The Thunder do have one championship win but that success came way back in 1979, when the team were known as the Supersonics and they played in Seattle.

The Pacers have never won the title. They were three-time winners of the now-defunct ABA, and this is just their second appearance in a Finals Series, having last reached the end-of-season showpiece in 2000.

Oklahoma are the huge favourites and understandably so given the strength of their squad. MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the heavy odds-on favourite for MVP honours in the series and he’s supported by the likes of Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort, as well as a strong bench.

NBA Playoffs Schedule

The Thunder brushed aside a strong Minnesota Timberwolves outfit 4-1 in the Conference Finals and beat Indiana in both regular-season meetings, but the Pacers have perhaps been underestimated by the bookmakers.

Indiana have never been behind in a series in the playoffs this year and they’ve lost only four games on their way to the finals. The Pacers have been exceptional on their travels - boasting a 6-2 road record across the post-season - and that gives them a chance to be competitive, so the value bet looks to be backing the Pacers with a +2.5 games start on the series handicap.

The MVP market looks best avoided with Gilgeous-Alexander 1-6 for that honour. One player market that does stand out is the 9-2 about Oklahoma's Jalen Williams to lead the series in steals. Gilgeous-Alexander is the market leader, but Williams has outperformed his team-mate in terms of steals in two of their three post-season series so far and can do so again against the Pacers.

The Pacers should be competitive over the series, but Oklahoma may be able to send out a statement of intent in Game One and backing the Thunder to cover a -9.5 handicap looks the best bet. 

The Thunder are 2-1 in series openers in the post-season and their two wins came by double-digit margins. The Thunder lost Game One against Denver Nuggets - but they blew a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter and won’t make that mistake again if they are in a similar position against Indiana.

Read more...

Spain vs France predictions, betting tips and odds: La Roja should be too slick for depleted opponents 

Football accumulator tips for Thursday June 7: Back our acca at 20-1 with bet365 

Steve Palmer's free predictions and golf betting tips for the KLM Open 

Steve Palmer's free predictions and golf betting tips for LIV Golf Virginia 

Steve Palmer's free predictions and golf betting tips for the Canadian Open 

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.