Why bettors are avoiding the favored Thunder in the NBA Finals
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder are such heavy favorites to win the NBA title that many bettors are looking for other wagers instead.
Professional bettors, in particular, have searched out player propositions and hit the under on the totals rather than take the Thunder at -700 at BetMGM Sportsbook or -650 at DraftKings Sportsbook. Indiana is listed at +500 at BetMGM and +475 at DraftKings for the
NBA Finals
that open Thursday.
'It's just not enticing to bet a money line or spread,' BetMGM trading manager Christian Cipollini said. 'That number kind of scares you off even if you do like the Pacers. You're like, 'They're +500 for a reason.''
The Thunder have won seven games this postseason by double digits, four by at least 30 points.
Oklahoma City is the biggest favorite since Golden State in 2018, according to
sportsoddshistory.com
. That Warriors team, led by Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, was listed at -1075 and
swept Cleveland
and LeBron James.
The Thunder franchise won its only previous title in 1979, when it was in Seattle and known as the SuperSonics. The team
relocated
to Oklahoma City in 2008.
CBS SportsLine handicapper Bruce Marshall said he thinks the Thunder will be pushed much harder by the Pacers, saying he could see the series going seven games.
'I think they're probably going to win the series, but I don't see any value with that sort of price for them,' Marshall said. 'I think there's enough here that Indiana can make it interesting.'
Maybe give SGA a look
For those who don't want to bet $700 at BetMGM or $650 on Oklahoma City to win $100 at DraftKings, they could consider laying money on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for finals MVP.
This year's league MVP
is the -600 favorite at DraftKings, the largest favorite since the sportsbook began posting odds in 2019, but a little bit of a discount compared to betting on the team.
Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 29.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists in the playoffs.
'We know he's going to score 30 points at least every game,' said Johnny Avello, DraftKings race and sports operations director. 'There's one (game) where he might be off a little bit. They still have to win because they're not going to give it to him if they lose the series.'
Pacers' dynanic duo
Pascal Siakam edged teammate Tyrese Haliburton to win the Eastern Conference Finals MVP when
Indiana beat New York
, which caused some debate about whether it went to the right player.
Haliburton is listed behind Gilgeous-Alexander at DraftKings at +750 for finals MVP and Siakam is next at +1600.
'You could pick either guy here,' Avello said. 'Siakam is just playing really well right now. Not that Haliburton's not.'
Hitting the road
One reason Marshall believed the Pacers can make this a competitive series is that they play so well away from home — and how poorly the Thunder can play outside their comfort zone.
Indiana is 6-2 on the road, winning all three games in the Eastern Conference semifinals at top-seeded Cleveland and taking two at Madison Square Garden to eliminate the Knicks.
The Thunder are 0-7 against the point spread in road playoff games, but have the home-court advantage. Oklahoma City is favored at BetMGM by 9 1/2 points in Game 1.
'It's two different teams at home and on the road,' Marshall said. 'It's pretty stark.'
Hoping for the Thunder
Given that most of the futures money and series betting have been on Oklahoma City, it would seem counterintuitive for a sportsbook to want the Thunder to win the championship.
But that's exactly the situation at BetMGM, which has priced the Thunder in a way throughout the season and playoffs to make it worthwhile.
'I don't think they ever got worse than maybe +400 to win it all,' Cipollini said. 'It still has been our best outcome basically from the beginning of the season.'
__
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Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
WCWS' mad carnival meets an NBA Finals stunner: Two days in Oklahoma City's sports vortex
OKLAHOMA CITY — To begin with, the Church of Thunder is not a church. There are a dozen pews, yes, but they were found on Facebook Marketplace. There is reverence, but it is aimed at the basketball game on a projector screen anchored to pallets of beer. This is why the people gather in a warehouse on Thursday. The biblical rains have passed. Time to praise and, with any luck, celebrate the local professional basketball franchise as it starts the NBA Finals about a mile away. Shai's will be done. Or something like that. Advertisement 'The little things we do have to cheer, we're going to cheer as loud as we can for them,' says Nick Williams, the co-owner of Lively Beerworks and founder of this ad hoc place of worship. At almost the same time, not even 15 minutes away, another event creates its own gravitational pull. The Women's College World Series championship round has a one-night head start and some complications from being an outdoor sport played after a deluge, but it, too, has thousands of people pushing through the gates to watch. A city that didn't exist a century and a half ago, a town off the major-sport grid when century started, is the latest magnetic north for sports. But seeing it is believing it. Two days, one city, two championship events separated by 7 miles and juxtaposed in scope and spirit. The people here might insist the local ethos threads them together. To an extent, this is true. But the Women's College World Series feels intimate, very much of this place even as the sport swells in popularity. The NBA Finals? That's an everywhere phenomenon, as hard as anyone tries to rope it in. And the local basketball club increasingly belongs to those far beyond city limits. The tension is kind of cool. There's ambition and audacity all over a big place that's big, but also isn't. 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But it's enough to suggest a few peppy intra-office memos were sent this week.) For some, this will forever be an NBA franchise appropriated from elsewhere. For those who enjoy the team being here, however it got to the corner of Reno Avenue and Thunder Drive, it's likely motivation to double down on some parochiality: a metro area pulling a team close and shouting for more than 17 years. This return to the NBA Finals, though, might be loosening the grip. Everyone may have to learn to share. A young and energized group, led by the league's young and energized Most Valuable Player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is not darling. They're closer to the next version of the Golden State Warriors, mesmerizing young fans coast-to-coast and burrowing into their bandwagons. You can imagine a generation chopping it up about 'OKC' without caring a whole lot about what the letters stand for. Maybe the actual OKC is OK with that. 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San Francisco Chronicle
19 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Mr. Clutch: Tyrese Haliburton keeps delivering in the ultimate moments for the Pacers
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — You are Tyrese Haliburton. You went to the Eastern Conference finals last year and got swept. You went to the Olympics last summer and didn't play much. You came into this season with high expectations and your Indiana Pacers got off to a 10-15 start. And on top of that, some of your NBA peers evidently think you are overrated. You got angry. 'I think as a group, we take everything personal,' Haliburton said. 'It's not just me. It's everybody. I feel like that's the DNA of this group and that's not just me.' The anger fueled focus, the focus became confidence, and the confidence delivered a 1-0 series lead in the NBA Finals. Haliburton's penchant for last-second heroics — one of the stories of these playoffs — showed up again Thursday night, his jumper with 0.3 seconds left going into finals lore and giving the Pacers a 111-110 win over the heavily favored Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pacers led for 0.0001% of that game. It was enough. 'When it comes to the moments, he wants the ball,' Pacers teammate Myles Turner said. 'He wants to be the one to hit that shot. He doesn't shy away from the moment and it's very important this time of the year to have a go-to guy. He just keeps finding a way and we keep putting the ball in the right positions and the rest is history.' Haliburton is 4 for 4 in the final 2 seconds of fourth quarters and overtimes in these playoffs, all of those shots either giving the Pacers a win or sending a game into OT before they won it there. The rest of the NBA, in those situations this spring: 4 for 26, combined. If Haliburton takes one of those beat-the-clock shots in the first three quarters of games in these playoffs, he's a mere mortal, just 1 for 7 in those situations. But with the game on the line, he's perfect. 'You don't want to live and die with the best player on the other team taking a game winner with a couple seconds left,' Thunder guard Alex Caruso said. No, especially when that best player on the other team is Haliburton. Just ask Milwaukee. Or Cleveland. Or New York. They could have all told Oklahoma City who was going to take the big shot and what was probably going to happen. Against the Bucks on April 29, it was a layup with 1.4 seconds left that capped a rally from seven points down in the final 34.6 seconds of overtime. Final score: Pacers 119, Bucks 118, and that series ended there. In Cleveland on May 6, it was a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left for a 120-119 win — capping a rally from seven points down in the final 48 seconds. At Madison Square Garden against the Knicks on May 21, a game the Pacers trailed 121-112 with 51.1 seconds left, he hit a jumper with no time left to force OT and Indiana would win again. All those plays came with a little something extra. His father, John Haliburton, got a little too exuberant with Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Bucks game and wasn't allowed to come to the next few games; the ban has since been lifted. Haliburton did a certain dance that the NBA doesn't like much after the shot against the Cavs. He made a choke signal, a la what Pacers legend Reggie Miller did against New York a generation earlier, after hitting the shot against the Knicks. But on Thursday, all business. These finals are a long way from over, and he knows it. Game 2 is Sunday night in Oklahoma City. 'Again, another big comeback but there's a lot more work to do,' Haliburton said. 'That's just one game. And this is the best team in the NBA, and they don't lose often. So, we expect them to respond. We've got to be prepared for that. We got a couple days to watch film, see where we can get better.' Haliburton is in his first year of a supermax contract that will pay him about $245 million along the way. He has the Olympic gold medal from last summer and surely will be a serious candidate to play for USA Basketball again at the Los Angeles Games in 2028. He's now a two-time All-NBA selection. And he's officially a certified postseason, late-game hero. Three more wins, and he'll be an NBA champion as well. The anger is gone. Haliburton was all smiles after Game 1, for obvious reasons. 'Ultimate, ultimate confidence in himself,' Turner said. 'Some players will say they have it but there's other players that show it, and he's going to let you know about it, too. That's one of the things I respect about him. He's a baller and a hooper and really just a gamer.' And in his NBA Finals debut, Haliburton reminded the world that's the case. 'This group never gives up," Haliburton said. 'We never believe that the game is over until it hits zero, and that's just the God's honest truth. That's just the confidence that we have as a group, and I think that's a big reason why this is going on.' ___
USA Today
19 minutes ago
- USA Today
Tyrese Haliburton strikes again. Pacers' dirty word? Turnovers. Chet Holmgren disappears.
Tyrese Haliburton strikes again. Pacers' dirty word? Turnovers. Chet Holmgren disappears. Show Caption Hide Caption Pacers and Thunder NBA Finals is better than it's 'small-market' billing USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt breaks down the star-studded NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. Sports Pulse If Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals was any indication of what the rest of the series holds, hoops fans should be delighted. The Indiana Pacers stole Game 1 from the Oklahoma City Thunder, 111-110, on Tyrese Haliburton's thrilling game-winning jumper with 0.3 seconds left. For the Pacers, it was yet another comeback victory from a deficit of at least 15 points, their fifth of the 2025 postseason. Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all players with 38 points on 14-of-30 shooting, while Indiana forward Pascal Siakam paced his team with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Pacers had six players, including all five starters, reach double-figures in scoring. OPINION: Pacers teach Thunder hard lesson in NBA Finals Game 1. You cannot count them out. MORE: Tyrese Haliburton game-winners: Pacers star has been hero throughout 2025 NBA playoffs The winners and losers from Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder: WINNERS Tyrese Haliburton, Mr. Clutch, strikes again This was a good — not great — game for Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Held in check for most of the game, Haliburton shined brightest in the clutch, as he has all season. Haliburton finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, but his game-winning, 21-foot jumper over Thunder guard Cason Wallace is what makes him a singular talent. WATCH: Tyrese Haliburton's game-winning shot in NBA Finals Game 1 This season, Haliburton is 13-of-15 (86.7%) on shots inside the final two minutes (including overtime) to tie or take the lead. He has scored 32 points across those 15 attempts, giving him 2.13 points per shot attempt in such scenarios. In the postseason alone, Haliburton is 6-of-7 (85.7%) on shots inside the final two minutes to tie or take the lead. The Pacers clamp down on defense Much of the attention from the wild Pacers comeback will go to its up-tempo offense in the fourth quarter. Don't sleep on Indiana's defense. Despite being put in compromising spots because of their 25 turnovers, the Pacers hustled back on defense and recovered in transition. That's why the Thunder were never able to ignite on debilitating runs; despite losing the turnover battle 25-7, Indiana ceded just 11 points off those giveaways, compared to the four the Pacers scored. In the final two-and-a-half minutes, the Pacers gave up just two points. They held the Thunder to just 1-of-6 shooting in that span. Andrew Nembhard As he has throughout this postseason, Nembhard had another seemingly quiet but massive game, especially when his team needed it most. Nembhard scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth, including a massive, stepback 3 over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — his teammate on Canada Basketball — with 1:59 to play. His most significant contribution, however, might have been on defense. For much of the fourth, Nembhard served as the primary defender on Gilgeous-Alexander. Nembhard limited SGA to four shot attempts in the period, and his physicality on Gilgeous-Alexander's final attempt with 11 seconds left helped set up Haliburton's game-winner. The Pacers clear the glass In the regular season, the Pacers were tied for 27th in rebounds, hauling in just 41.8 per game. The Thunder were tied for 11th (44.8). Yet, in Game 1, Indiana outworked OKC and claimed a 56-39 edge, or a +17 differential. The Pacers did turn the ball over much more, and Oklahoma City did attempt 16 more shots, which in theory diminished the number of defensive rebounds available for the Thunder. This is an area of relative weakness for Indiana, one the Thunder should try to exploit. LOSERS Thunder finishing in the fourth Oklahoma City isn't a team that typically squanders leads late in games, especially at home. Yet, the Thunder got outscored by 10 in the final period and faltered on both sides. Not only did OKC go cold in the fourth, with seven misses coming within the paint, but the Thunder also lost defensive intention and focus and let Indiana shoot 50% from the floor. In fact, the Pacers drilled 6-of-10 from 3, while the Thunder did not make any of their five attempts from beyond the arc. In the final 2:38, the Thunder, who held a nine-point lead inside the final 3 minutes of the game, allowed the Pacers to score 12 points. Pacers turnovers The Pacers have grit, at this point there can be no question. But Indiana should also consider itself to be quite fortunate. That's because, simply put, there is no way the Pacers can win this series if they turn the ball over anywhere near the way they did in Game 1. Indiana committed 25 turnovers Thursday night, which, for most of the game, played right into Oklahoma City's hands. The Pacers, though, did improve as the game went on; 20 of those turnovers came in the first half. Chet Holmgren In a game in which Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 38 and Lu Dort added 15 on five made 3-pointers, center Chet Holmgren underwhelmed. His six points marked his lowest output of the postseason, as did his two made field goals. And then, defensively, Holmgren also struggled at times to find Pacers center Myles Turner, who went 3-of-4 in the fourth quarter.
