The NBA Finals are finally upon as a crazy basketball season reaches its climax when the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Indiana Pacers in a best-of-seven game series.
The Thunder had the best record in the NBA this season, going 68-14 in the regular season and finishing top of the Western Conference, while the Pacers earned a 50-32 record in the East and finished fourth.
We’ll take a look at the upcoming series and provide you with our best free NBA betting picks as we try to earn you some extra cash while you take in the action on the court.
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The Thunder have had their best season in years, and qualified for the NBA playoffs with a 68-14 record and as the number one seed from the Western Conference.
That set them up with a first-round match-up against the Memphis Grizzlies, where they cruised to four consecutive victories to claim a sweep. In Game 1 they claimed a 51-point victory (131-80) with Aaron Wiggins top-scoring with 21, before a 118-99 win in Game 2 with regular season MVP Shai-Gilgeous Alexander top-scoring with 27 points. SGA then hit 31 points in Game 3 and 38 points in Game 4 as they earned themselves extra rest ahead of the next round.
Oklahoma took on the Denver Nuggets in the conference semi-finals, and as expected it was a razor close series. Nikola Jokic did his best as the teams won three games each to set up a Game 7, where SGA hit 35 points and pulled his team through to the Conference Finals.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were the opponents there, but once again Gilgeous-Alexander was the standout performer as Oklahoma claimed a sensational 4-1 series win, with Jalen Williams also shining as the NBA’s best team this season reached the finals.
Not many people expected the Pacers to reach the NBA finals at the start of the season, but a 50-32 season combined with the brilliance of Tyrese Haliburton in particular, has carried this team.
In the opening round of the playoffs Indiana took on the Milwaukee Bucks, and they took victory in the first two games of the series (117-98 and 123-15) as Pascal Siakam top-scored with 25 and 24 points respectively. They fell to defeat in Game 3, but quickly bounced back in Game 4 and Game 5, including an overtime victory, to secure their place in the Conference semi-finals.
There they took on the Cleveland Cavaliers and it was another familiar story as they waltzed to another 4-1 series win. Indiana won Game 1 and Game 2 once again via 121-112 and 120-119 scorelines, before suffering defeat in Game 3 at home, despite Benedict Mathurin hitting 26 points. But Siakam and Haliburton turned it up in Game 4 and 5 as they earned victories and progressed to the Conference Finals.
That set up a big series against the New York Knicks, and they were given a tough time. Game 1 ended in an overtime 138-135 victory for the Pacers, with Haliburton hitting 31 points, before a 114-109 win in Game 2 saw Siakam hit 39 points and give them a cushion. Game 3 was another familiar tale as the Knicks won 106-100, before a Game 4 victory restored their two-game lead.
New York refused to go down without a fight though and claimed a 111-94 win to take it to Game 6, but Siakam hit 31 points and Haliburton registered 13 assists to take a 125-108 win.
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Oklahoma City Thunder have been the best team in the NBA all season long, and there is no surprise that they are the favorites to find success and go all the way to lift the title.
Only five other NBA teams have boasted a higher win percentage than OKC’s .829 win rate and four of those teams went on to claim the NBA Championship. They also have the regular-season MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in their ranks, and he has been on fire in the post-season.
Neither team has got much championship-winning experience in their ranks, but Oklahoma are the side who seem to be further along in their build towards success, and them being in this position isn’t really a surprise.
With the individual quality, the man-to-man advantage they have all over the court and the season they’ve had, you simply can’t look past the Oklahoma City Thunder winning their first NBA championship since changing their name back in 2008.
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About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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