2025 NBA Finals: Expert Predictions and Analysis
The stage is set for the 2025 NBA Finals, with the Oklahoma City Thunder facing off against the Indiana Pacers. The Thunder, heavily favoured to win their first title in OKC, will look to overcome the Pacers, who have defied expectations throughout the playoffs. According to CBS Sports, the series odds are stacked in favour of the Thunder, with FanDuel listing them as -750 favourites, while the Pacers are +530 underdogs.
The Pacers have had a remarkable run, ousting the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks to make the Finals for the first time in 25 years. Pascal Siakam was named Eastern Conference finals MVP after averaging 24.8 points against the Knicks, while Tyrese Haliburton averaged a double-double with 21 points and 10.5 assists and hit the biggest shot of the series in Game 1. As CBS Sports reports, "The Pacers ousted the Knicks in six games to make the Finals for the first time in 25 years."
The Thunder, meanwhile, took care of the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games to win the Western Conference finals. OKC lost a Game 3 blowout, but otherwise had its way with Minnesota. The Thunder needed seven games to get past the Denver Nuggets in the second round, but are now 12-4 in the playoffs after going 68-14 in the regular season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named WCF MVP and has scored 30-plus points 11 times in his last 14 games, as noted by CBS Sports.
CBS Sports’ experts have weighed in on the series, providing their predictions and analysis. Botkin predicts the Thunder will win in 5 games, stating, "The Pacers have been roughly a 57-win team since Jan. 1, so this isn’t a total underdog story. But we’re also talking about the Eastern Conference, and the path wasn’t the most difficult against the downright bad Bucks, the injured Cavs and a Knicks team that, shall we say, had to beat some pretty historic odds to pull off a pair of 20-point miracle comebacks against the Celtics, who eventually lost Jayson Tatum, to make the conference finals." Botkin expects the Thunder’s depth and defence to be too much for the Pacers, predicting a 4-1 series win.
Herbert, on the other hand, predicts the Thunder will win in 6 games, noting, "I could see this being quicker, but there’s something about these Pacers. I anticipate them taking (and allowing) more 3s than usual in this series, and I anticipate Rick Carlisle doing everything he can (i.e. mixing up coverages, mixing up matchups, even going zone) to keep the Thunder off-balance in the halfcourt." Maloney also predicts a 6-game series win for the Thunder, stating, "The Thunder have thrived by overwhelming teams defensively and feasting off turnovers, but the Pacers take care of the ball extremely well."
Quinn predicts a 5-game series win for the Thunder, citing the significant talent gap between the two teams. "Indiana has some things going for it in this series. The Pacers don’t turn the ball over, and the Thunder live off of turnovers defensively. They’re one of the few teams that can match the Thunder’s depth. They’re a good shooting team and Oklahoma City’s aggressive defense leaves the corners open. But the talent gap here is tremendous," Quinn notes.
Ward-Henninger predicts a 7-game series win for the Thunder, stating, "Man, do I love the Pacers and the gifts they’ve given us basketball fans over the past month — but OKC is a horror movie monster lurking behind the barn door yielding a rusty chainsaw. Indiana banks on being able to tire you out over the course of games and series with its relentless pace and precision — that’s not going to happen to the deep and seemingly unrelenting Thunder roster."
Wimbish also predicts a 6-game series win for the Thunder, noting, "The Pacers have proven everyone wrong at every turn this postseason. But they haven’t faced a team even remotely close to what the Thunder are. Playing against OKC reminds me of a scene from Black Widow where the titular character played by Scarlett Johansson fights Taskmaster for the first time and quickly finds out that she’s capable of mimicking the fight style of any opponent, making Taskmaster virtually impossible to defeat."
The 2025 NBA Finals are set to get underway on Thursday night in Oklahoma City, with the Thunder looking to claim their first title in OKC. The Pacers, meanwhile, will look to pull off a major upset and claim their first NBA championship in franchise history. With expert predictions ranging from a 5-game to a 7-game series win for the Thunder, one thing is certain – this series is shaping up to be an exciting and closely contested matchup.
