Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 1: Picks, Predictions, Odds and Player Props

The NBA Finals are here, and a surprising matchup is in the cards.

Although the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder were always expected to make it this far, their Eastern Conference opponents figured to be on summer vacation a while ago.

Instead, the Indiana Pacers took out the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks to earn an improbable spot in the Finals, setting up Game 1 against the Pacers on Thursday.

Tipoff is set for 8:30 PM ET on ABC, so it’s time to break down the matchup and discuss the best bets to make.

Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 1 betting picks and predictions

Oklahoma City Thunder -9.5 (-105)

The Thunder are quite simply the best team in basketball. They went 68-14 in the regular season, finishing 16 games ahead of the next-best Western Conference team and four games ahead of the next-best NBA team.

Head coach Mark Daigneault’s team needed seven games to beat Denver in round two, but it opened with a four-game sweep of Memphis and restored order to the proceedings by easing past Minnesota in five.

Indiana is no slouch, but throughout the playoffs thus far, it faced a Milwaukee squad that lost Damian Lillard to a torn Achilles, took advantage of an extremely banged-up Cleveland outfit, and then got to play New York instead of Boston.

Jarace Walker (ankle) being sidelined for at least the first two games of this series certainly doesn’t help matters for Indiana. Walker may be a role player, but he has logged double-digit minutes in plenty of high-leverage situations throughout these playoffs.

The Pacers got swept 2-0 in the regular season by a combined 27 points. With the spread still in single digits, backing Oklahoma City to cover is an enticing proposition.

Under 231.0 total points (-110)

An Under bet correlates nicely with Thunder -9.5, because they will enjoy success whenever they are playing their brand of basketball as opposed to that of the Pacers.

Oklahoma City led the Western Conference in scoring defense this season, giving up just 107.6 ppg. Indiana, on the other hand, likes to play fast and light up the scoreboard.

Given that the Thunder are the far superior team in general and will also be playing at home on Thursday, they should be able to control the tempo.

In the two games Indiana lost to New York, head coach Rick Carlisle’s crew scored 100 and 94 points. The Pacers suffered two losses total in the first two rounds and scored 101 and 104 points in those two contests.

All things considered, the Under looks like the right bet.

Isaiah Hartenstein Over 7.5 points (-135)

The Pacers generally give up a lot of points, specifically around the basket. They allowed 51.1 points in the paint per game during the regular season, the sixth most in the NBA.

Their perimeter defense, however, is actually quite good. Indiana held opponents to 35.2 percent shooting from three-point range (fifth best in the Association) and allowed just 12.7 three-pointers per contest (sixth fewest).

All of those numbers mean that this matchup looks like a favorable one for Hartenstein. The seven-footer averaged 11.2 ppg during the regular season, 9.5 of which came in the paint.

That ranks him No. 39 league wide in paint points per game. Hartenstein logged only 14 minutes against Indiana on March 29, but in 34 minutes of work on December 26 he contributed 11 points to go along with 13 rebounds.

He should be able to go Over his points line in Game 1, and Hartenstein to score at 10+ points at +160 odds is also a great value play.

Read more betting picks and predictions for the NBA on site.

Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 1 odds

Indiana Pacers	-325 ML
Oklahoma City Thunder	+425 ML
Spread	OKC Thunder -9.5
Total Points	O/U 231.0

Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 1 player props

Player Points

Pascal Siakam (IND Pacers)	O/U 19.5
Tyrese Hailburton (IND Pacers)	O/U 17.5
Myles Turner (IND Pacers)	O/U 13.5
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC Thunder)	O/U 33.5
Jalen Williams (OKC Thunder)	O/U 22.5
Chet Holmgren (OKC Thunder)	O/U 16.5

Read the latest NBA news on site

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.