It’s the first NBA Finals Game 7 in nine years, as the Pacers have shocked the world against the Thunder.
Oklahoma City opened the series as massive -800 favorites to win the NBA Finals, but are now in a do-or-die Game 7 where anything goes — although oddsmakers don’t see it that close.
Caesars Sportsbook‘s oddsmakers have the Thunder listed as eight-point home favorites after opening as nine-point favorites following Game 6’s bludgeoning by Indiana.
Some money coming in on the Thunder at opening isn’t all that surprising considering what we saw in Game 6, which was a non-competitive 108-91 win by the Pacers.
Indiana punched the Thunder in the mouth, and the game was never close after the first quarter.
The spread coming in at eight points is a stark change from Game 5, the last contest in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder were 9.5-point favorites with the series tied at 2-2, and covered the spread with a 120-109 win.
If you believe in the Pacers, their moneyline price is a reasonable +260 at Caesars, while the Thunder are -335.
The total comes in at 215.5.
There have been three Game 7’s in NBA Finals history since 2010 and this is by far the largest spread of any of those games.
The Warriors were five-point favorites against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, while the Heat were six-point favorites against the Spurs in 2013.
Both underdogs cashed their moneyline prices, while the Lakers covered their spread as favorites in 2010 against the Celtics.
Oklahoma City has been the NBA Finals favorite for much of the season, opening the playoffs at +185 odds and plummeting to -115 after the Knicks eliminated defending champion Celtics.
Game 7 on Sunday night is certain to be a wild matchup between two young squads that love pushing the pace competing for their franchises’ first respective titles,
The total of 215.5 is the highest of any Game 7 based on available data.
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.