NBA Finals Preview: Our Top Parlay for Game 1 of Pacers vs. Thunder

The NBA Finals are just around the corner, and Game 1 opens up in Oklahoma City with the league’s best regular season squad favored by nine points.

With these teams playing each other just twice during the regular season, we are taking the home team to dominate in this opening matchup against an Indiana team that hasn’t faced a defense quite like this one.

Wednesday, October 21 at 8:10 PM	Spread	Money	Total
Indiana Pacers	-4.5 (-105)	-165	O 243.5 (-110)
New Orleans Pelicans	+4.5 (-115)	+140	U 242.5 (-110)

Oklahoma City Thunder -9

Oklahoma City has dominated the regular and postseason, unlike any team we have seen since the KD Warriors. OKC has lost just four games this postseason while winning 7 of their 12 games by ten or more points.

Once this team gets up big on opponents, they tend to put the hammer down with their elite defense. Good luck to Tyrese Haliburton as he tries to navigate around Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, and Cason Wallace… all in the same possession.

While Indiana’s scoring raises alarms for OKC, the Thunder’s team defense should shock this Pacers team that has come out of the much weaker Eastern Conference. Oklahoma City won the first game of this season’s series by 6 points, minus Aaron Nesmith, Alex Caruso, and Chet Holmgren. The second game went OKC’s way as well in a 132-111 win at home minus Holmgren and Mathurin.

Alex Caruso (OKC) 12+ Points & Rebounds

Alex Caruso has been in this position before. He was a key part of the Lakers’ bubble championship as well as the x-factor in the Thunder’s decisive Game 7 victory against Denver in Round 2 of these playoffs.

AC is playing over 21 MPG over the last three series while averaging 11.1 Points & Rebounds. There is always a Game 1 guy that jumps out of the gate extremely hot on both ends of the floor, and that guy will be Caruso, who hit this mark in each of his last two Game 1s.

Chet Holmgren (OKC) 2+ Made Threes

Speaking of Game 1 monsters, Chet Holmgren has gone 4/8 from beyond the arc in OKC’s three Game 1s during this postseason. Chet is finally healthy and playing around 30 MPG for this team that needs his length on both sides of the floor to match up against Siakam and Turner.

While Chet is averaging 1.5 3 PM per game in this postseason, the focus on Shai and JDub should leave the Thunder’s 3rd option open on some pick & pop miscommunications.

Chet hasn’t played Indiana in over a year, which in my eyes favors the 3rd year big man who has a lot to prove on this big stage against two veterans in Turner & Siakam.