2 Best NBA Finals Series Bets for Thunder vs. Pacers

The NBA Finals tip off this Thursday when the Indiana Pacers visit the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Understandably so, the Thunder are massive favorites to win the title, per FanDuel Sportsbook's NBA Finals odds.

Does Indiana have what it takes to make this series interesting? FanDuel offers many ways to get in on the action, including NBA Finals series specials, series leaders, and more.

Let's dig into some of those NBA Finals markets and see which lines stand out ahead of Game 1.

Best NBA Finals Series Bets for Thunder vs. Pacers

Over 5.5 Games (+120)

In our Thunder vs. Pacers NBA Finals preview, I noted we can find value in the Pacers' +530 odds to win the title.

I believe that is the case for a few key reasons. For starters, they entered the postseason with the historical makings of an NBA Finals team whereas the market may consider this Indiana run as more of a fluke. Moreover, they lead all playoff teams in effective field goal percentage (EFG%), boasting a significantly higher mark (57.6%) than the Thunder (53.2%). An elite effective field goal percentage strongly correlates with success in the Finals as 8 of the last 12 teams to raise a banner entered the championship series with the better postseason EFG% mark.

However, the Thunder aren't just the best team in the league right now -- they are one of the best teams in NBA history, statistically speaking. OKC's +12.8 net rating in the regular season was the second-best of its kind, and they have notched a record-breaking four 30-plus-point wins these playoffs.

So, while we can argue value in Indiana's +530 odds, it's understandable if you just don't want to go there. Instead, we can get exposure to the Pacers being potentially undervalued by backing this series to go over 5.5 games at +120 odds.

The Pacers and Thunder have gone an identical 12-4 this postseason, and arguments could be made that Indiana's path was harder, kicking things off against Giannis Antetokounmpo before facing a 64-win Cleveland Cavaliers team, albeit a banged-up one.

Indiana's astonishing clutch play and heroic shot-making has been the talk of these playoffs, but that quality is perhaps more sticky than lucky. They led the league with a +20.9 clutch net rating in the regular season all while logging the fourth-most clutch minutes (169.0).

That leaves me with some hope that the Pacers can win the close games in this series. Keeping games close will be the taller task -- history would say OKC is bound to pull off a blowout or two this series -- but Indiana's ball security should help. The Thunder have killed teams by forcing a playoff-high 18.0 turnovers per game, but the Pacers held the third-best turnover rate in the regular season and playoffs despite playing fast and making bold decisions on offense.

I think the Pacers can push this series to over 5.5 games.

Each Team To Score 105+ Points in Every Game (+440)

A Thunder vs. Pacers matchup is probably the only combination that would have me interested in this series special, and I think it's worth a shot at +440 odds.

Oklahoma City is averaging 117.1 points per game this postseason and has scored at least 105 points in 13 out of 16 games.

All three misses came against either the Denver Nuggets or Minnesota Timberwolves. Denver employed a zone defense that lent itself to drawn out offensive possessions for OKC while Minnesota ranked 25th in pace in the regular season and eighth in pace among playoff teams. A series against Indiana, a team that makes a living via a brutally fast tempo, should serve OKC's scoring output well.

Indiana will be the tougher get for this series special, though they are averaging 117.4 points per game in the playoffs and have scored at least 105 points in 12 out of 16 contests. They'll benefit from playing a similarly fast OKC team, one that ranked fifth in tempo in the regular season and second in tempo this postseason.

The Thunder (120.5) and Pacers (111.5) each have high implied team totals, per the NBA Finals Game 1 odds at FanDuel. The pace of play throughout this series could carry these teams to high totals even amidst shooting struggles, especially if the Thunder elect to take it easy on Isaiah Hartenstein and opt to play small ball.

You can also check out our latest 2025 NBA Playoffs printable bracket, which includes the seeding and matchups for each conference.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.