Pacers vs Thunder Free Pick, NBA Free Picks, NBA Predictions 6/5/25
- J.A. Cavalier
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
INDIANA @ OKLAHOMA CITY (OKC -9.5, 230.5)
NBA ODDS, NBA PREDICTIONS, NBA PREVIEWS
PACERS @ THUNDER 6/5/25
For the first time since 2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder are in the NBA Finals. It’s also the first appearance since 2000 for the Indiana Pacers. Although neither has ever taken home an NBA championship, one will win the 2024-25 Larry O'Brien Trophy. The teams' play Game 1 in Oklahoma City tonight.
Paul George is what ties the teams together. George's trades to the Pacers and Thunder paved the way for these championships. First, Indiana sent George to Oklahoma City in July 2017 in exchange for Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo. The Pacers acquired Tyrese Haliburton, a key component of this run, in February 2022 when they traded Sabonis.
The current roster has been even more impacted by Oklahoma City's haul from its own George trade. George requested a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers following two All-Star seasons with the Thunder.
In addition to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA's top scorer and MVP this season, Oklahoma City also obtained the draft pick that was used to choose Jalen Williams.
With an average of 31.6 points in Oklahoma City's 12 playoff victories, Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as the Thunder's most potent offensive weapon and their main mood-setter.
Indiana's journey has been far less straightforward than the Thunder's, who went 68-14 in the regular season to win the Western Conference handily. Before turning things around and finishing as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, the Pacers were below .500 as late as early January.
However, Indiana has been extremely dominant in the playoffs, defeating the Bucks in five games, top-seeded Cleveland in five, and the Knicks in six to reach their first finals since the team's Reggie Miller heyday.
During the regular season, the Thunder won both of their meetings, most recently 132-111 in Oklahoma City on March 29. The Thunder's defense has set the tone, just as it did during the regular season. During the playoffs, Oklahoma City leads the NBA in defensive rating (104.7 points allowed per 100 possessions).
With a 117.7 offensive rating in 16 playoff games, the Pacers have demonstrated a lot of offensive firepower. They are ahead of Oklahoma City's 115.9 and only trail Cleveland's 122.6.
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Coach Rick FREE PICK
LU DORT OVER 3.5 REBOUNDS
Dort gets the job of defending the opponent’s stud. That means he’ll defend Tyrese Haliburton in Game 1 of the NBA Finals tonight. He did it in the Western Conference Finals, checking Minnesota’s top scorer Anthony Edwards. In that series, Dort had four or more rebounds in 3 of the final 4 games in the series. His average for the series was 3.6. Projections put Dort in position for 7.6 rebounding chances during the playoffs and that number jumped to 8.2 for WC Finals. In two regular season games against Indiana, Dort had 5 and 7 boards.
